


I’m not from this world

by PinkSparkleUnicorn



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Jesse Manes is His Own Warning, Kidnapping, Long Lost/Secret Relatives, M/M, Pregnancy, Soul Bond, alien secrets, probable inaccurate military stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-13
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:27:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 43,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27542314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PinkSparkleUnicorn/pseuds/PinkSparkleUnicorn
Summary: Alex receives a late night call from a tiny voice asking for help. This voice also calls him ‘Uncle Alex’ which wouldn’t be a problem if he had any nieces or nephews. Can Alex figure out what’s going on before the child gets hurt? Or will he be walking into a trap?
Relationships: Isabel Evans/Gregory Manes, Michael Guerin/Alex Manes
Comments: 285
Kudos: 216





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Tags may be added with each chapter. I will always leave an author’s note if I feel someone may need more information about the content.
> 
> The pregnancy tag does NOT refer to Malex just in case anyone thought it might be MPREG. It’s not. 
> 
> I want to thank my two lovely beta readers [WhitneyL32](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhitneyL32/pseuds/WhitneyL32) and [Happilyaskew](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HappilyAskew) You both spent hours listening to me vent about plot holes and gave me suggestions and tons of encouragement. I would be lost without you both!

Alex hadn’t been sleeping much lately. Between all the alien problems and work issues, he’d been burning the candle at both ends. So when he finally got a day off he ate an early dinner, took a hot bath to relax his aching muscles and was in bed by ten. At midnight his phone rang, and he sleepily pulled it to him. The screen didn’t give him a clue who it was. It just flashed ‘unknown.’ In another time he might have just let it go to voicemail, but with the classified projects at work and the alien shenanigans, he picked up the phone. 

“Hello?” He tried unsuccessfully to keep the fact he was sleeping out of his voice. 

A tiny voice answered him. “Uncle Alex?”

Still half asleep, Alex mumbled. “What?”

“Uncle Alex, I need help.” The voice continued, obviously on the verge of tears. 

Alex forced his eyes open and felt his heart race. “Who is this?”

“Mommy said if Daddy was away and something bad happened to call you.” The child was crying now. 

Alex tried to calm his racing heart. “Something bad?”

“Uncle Alex, Mommy is gone and I’m scared.” The child’s sobs were making it hard to understand them. 

“Where did your mommy go?” Alex had no clue what was going on, but the voice on the other end of the phone was clearly becoming hysterical and he needed to know what he was dealing with. 

“Grandpa Jesse took her, and now I’m all alone. Please help me.” The voice begged.

“Okay, it’s going to be okay. Where are you?” Alex steadied his voice and tried to sound non threatening. 

“I’m in the secret place. X marks the spot. Please hurry.”

“Where is the secret place?” Alex asked, but the line went dead. He pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it for a few minutes. He had no idea who had been on the phone because to his knowledge he didn’t have a niece or nephew. The only thing he knew for sure was that whoever called him was scared and in trouble, and he couldn’t just sit there doing nothing. He pulled himself up in bed and dialed a familiar number. 

“Alex?” Came the sleepy reply.

“Guerin. How quickly can you get here?” Alex asked, reaching for his prosthetic.

“Where is here? Are you okay?” Alex could hear keys jangling in Michael’s hand and the slam of the Airstream door. 

“I’m home. And yes, I’m okay, but I need your help. I have to make another call so just come inside when you get here.” Alex stood once he attached his leg and made his way to the kitchen where his computer was set up. 

“I’m on my way.” Michael answered.

Alex’s fingers flew across the computer keys, secretly accessing his brothers’ military records. He knew for a fact that Greg had no children and he was relatively sure about Flint, but he had no idea about Clay. He knew Clay was still in the Army and was frequently deployed because Flint liked to brag about his big brother’s skills on the battlefield. So it was possible that Clay was ‘away’ and the child was his, but it made little sense that he hadn’t heard about a wedding, let alone a child. He knew his father hated him and Flint barely tolerated him, but he and Greg were close. He was sure Greg would have mentioned a niece or nephew, unless Clay was trying to keep the child a secret. 

He hit a dead end with the military records, so he picked up the phone and called Greg. It was almost one in the morning and he knew Greg had classes in the morning, but he needed answers and he needed them like an hour ago. 

“Alex? What’s wrong?” Greg’s voice was wide awake and clear.

“Can you talk?” Alex asked.

“Yes, it’s safe. What’s going on?” Greg asked again. 

Alex had to be sure Greg was truly alone because he couldn’t take the chance of anyone hearing what they were talking about. Because if that child was truly his niece or nephew and his father really took their mother, well, they were all in trouble. “I need to be sure you’re alone. What color lipstick was Isobel wearing when we came to the res the first time? I’ll know you’re not alone if you don’t answer correctly.”

“Seriously, Alex? You expect me to remember her lipstick color?” Greg scoffed.

“I guess you aren’t alone then. Sorry, I gotta go...”

“Alex! Wait! It’s late and...uh...you’re right, I’m not quite alone. Hold on,” he put his hand over the receiver but Alex could clearly hear him. “What color lipstick were you wearing when Alex brought you to the res?”

Alex relaxed when he realized it was Isobel that was with Greg. Michael had mentioned they were spending time together, but they were trying to keep it quiet while they got to know each other. Alex completely understood. He and Michael had recently gotten back together but were keeping things discreet while they worked out their issues. Only Isobel and Greg knew they were back together. 

Greg took his hand off the phone. “Red. Are you in trouble?”

“Do Flint or Clay have any kids they haven’t told me about?” Alex blurted out.

“Why would you ask something like that? Of course they don’t. I mean I don’t think they do...Alex, what’s going on?”

“I don’t know. I truly don’t know. I just got a call from a number in Arizona. It was a kid, Greg. A tiny crying voice asking for help. They called me Uncle Alex. They said Dad took their mom. I tried going through Flint and Clay’s military records, but I can’t find anything. I was hoping you knew something.” Alex ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. 

“Alex!” Michael rushed into the house and found Alex sitting at the kitchen table with his phone to his ear. He put his finger up when Michael spoke. 

“Is that Michael? What are you planning?” Greg started moving around his house and Alex could hear him telling Isobel to get dressed.

“I’m going to Arizona. I need to find out what’s going on. If someone really needs my help or if it’s some kind of trap.”

“You are not going anywhere right now. We’re on our way to you.” Greg said.

“There’s no time. I’m leaving now. We’ll be careful. I’ll call you as soon as I know something.” Alex motioned for Michael follow him.

“Alex...don’t do something stupid! What if this is a trap? You think you and Michael can handle this on your own? What if it is Dad, and he has the pollen?” He could hear Greg starting his car and Isobel talking in the background. 

“I have the antidote for the pollen that Liz made. We’ll be fine. The address is six hours away. I’ll call you when we’re on the way home. Tell Isobel to fill everyone in on what I told you.” Alex headed to his bedroom, Michael right behind him.

“Everyone? Who is everyone?” 

“Isobel knows. Tell her...better yet, put me on speaker.” Alex waited until Greg complied before continuing. “Iz, call everyone together and I mean everyone. It may be nothing, but we may have a serious situation on our hands. Greg will fill you in, but we should be back in about fourteen hours give or take. I have to go. I promise we’ll be careful.” Alex hung up before either Greg or Isobel could say anything. 

He threw his phone on his bed and went into his closet to unlock his safe. 

“You want to tell me what’s going on? Why would I need the pollen antidote?” Michael stood behind Alex. 

“Because a little over an hour ago, I got a call from a child calling me Uncle Alex. I traced the phone number to an address in Safford, Arizona. I’m going to find this child and then find their mother. Who may in fact be my sister-in-law. I know I should have asked before you came over, but would you like to go for a ride?” Alex turned around and handed Michael a gun before shoving two vials into his backpack. 

Michael took the gun. “Are you driving or am I?”

They took Alex’s SUV, but Michael drove while Alex tried to get any information about Clay’s whereabouts. 

“It looks like Clay is currently on his way overseas, but I don’t know exactly where. I could try to go through official channels to contact him, but if my father is behind this, I could put him in danger. On the other hand, if there is no wife or kid, we could walk into a trap.” Alex’s fingers flew across the keys of his laptop while he tried to decide what to do. 

“What about Flint? Could the kid be his?” Michael asked, glancing at the GPS. 

“I don’t think so. I mean, possibly? But right now, that’s even more dangerous than contacting Clay. I _know_ he’s been working with my father. Clay butted heads with our father ever since mom left so it’s more likely he’s hiding a wife and kid.” Alex changed screens and pulled up a satellite photo of the address the phone call originated from. 

“Okay, walk me through this. What exactly did the kid say?” Michael asked. 

“They said they needed help. That if Daddy was away and something bad happened, mommy said to call me. I asked if something bad had happened. They said Grandpa Jesse took mommy, and they were scared and alone. I asked where they were and they said in the secret place, X marks the spot. Then the phone went dead.” Alex recounted. 

Michael glanced at Alex. “Wait, where did the kid say they were?”

“The secret place, x marks the spot. Why? Does that mean something?” 

Michael gripped the steering wheel. “It could be a coincidence, but that’s where my mother told Walt to hide right before the massacre, X marks the spot.” 

“Do you think this could be alien related? Oh my god, what are we walking into?” Alex studied the small, nondescript house on his computer screen.

@@@

Five hours later, Michael and Alex pulled into a quiet suburban neighborhood. Michael slowed when they got close to the address. “Do we park in the driveway or do we park a few houses away?”

Alex checked his watch and looked around. “It’s six thirty, people are going to just getting up. We don’t want to be suspicious so park in the driveway. Take the keys and pretend to use them to open the door. Make it look like we belong here.”

“Uh...what if this is a trap or something and the actual homeowners are in there?” Michael glanced at Alex before pulling into the driveway. 

“No heat signatures.” Alex lifted his iPad. 

Michael cut the engine and reached for the handle, but Alex stopped him. “No powers unless absolutely necessary, except to open any locked doors. Okay?”

“Got it.” Michael stepped out of the car and froze. A pained look came across his face and he turned to Alex. “I can feel her. Alex, it’s just like Caulfield.”

“This place is another Caulfield?” Alex put his hand on his weapon.

Michael shook his head. “No. She’s terrified. Alex, there’s an alien child somewhere in this house.”

Alex nodded, and Michael watched him transform into Captain Manes. “Once we get inside stay behind me.”

They looked around and quickly made their way to the front door. Michael took the car keys and pretended to use them to open the door. Once inside and the door closed, Alex took out his iPad and checked the program again. “Still no heat signatures. How is that possible? Can you still feel her?”

“She’s calling to me. Upstairs.” Michael started up the stairs, but Alex grabbed his arm. 

“Let me go first.” He put the iPad away and drew his weapon. Once upstairs he glanced back at Michael who gestured to the room in front of them. They walked into what looked like the master bedroom and turned in circles. 

“Where?” Alex whispered.

“The closet.” Michael whispered back.

Alex slowly opened the door. He pushed the clothes aside and searched for the child. “Are you sure she’s in here?”

Micheal nodded. “There’s an x somewhere. She says to push it?”

“Found it. Are you sure, Michael? This isn’t a trap?” Alex hesitated over the x.

“It feels very real. I don’t think it’s a trap, but I’m right here. Nothing is going to happen.”

Alex pushed the x, and a panel slid open to reveal a small room. A small child sat on a bed, arms wrapped around her knees. She looked up at Alex and Michael and fresh tears slid down her face. 

“Uncle Alex! You came.” She turned her head to Michael. “You’re like me!”

Michael’s eyes widened. “How can you tell?”

The little girl looked between Michael and Alex. “Mommy made sure I knew how to tell. I can hear you in my head. You’re Michael and you love Uncle Alex. I’m sorry, Mommy said I shouldn’t do that. Where is Mommy? Did Grandpa hurt her?”

“I don’t know where your mommy is, but we’re going to find her. But first we need to get you out of here. It’s not safe.” Alex reached to pick her up, but Michael stopped him.

“I got her. Don’t strain your leg. We’re not in the clear yet. This could still be a trap.” Michael bent to pick up the little girl. 

“I want my mommy and daddy.” Tears continued to slide down her cheeks.

“I know, sweetheart. Uncle Alex is going to do his best to find them. Let’s go get some of your things and go someplace safe.” Michael held the little girl tight. 

Alex looked around the small room. Whoever created the room had used the master bathroom. There was a bed, toys and a small refrigerator. At least the little girl had been comfortable while she waited for help. He searched the room and found the phone she had used to call him. He picked it up and put it in his bag. He then followed Michael into the hall, opening doors until he found the little girl’s room. 

Michael set her on her bed and looked around for a bag. He found a backpack in her closet and began throwing clothes into it. “Do you have a favorite toy you want to bring? I don’t know when you’ll be coming back.”

The little girl picked up a stuffed unicorn and held it to her chest. “What if Daddy comes home and I’m not here? He’s going to be sad.”

Alex sat next to the girl and put his arm around her. “We’ll make sure he knows you’re safe. What’s your name, little one?”

“I’m Aria. I’m four!” She held up four fingers proudly. 

“You’re very smart for four. You were very brave to stay in the safe place until we got here. Can you tell me your daddy’s name?” Alex stroked her hair and smiled at her. 

“Silly Uncle Alex! Daddy is your brother. Did you forget your brother’s name?” Aria laughed. 

“Of course not. I was just seeing if you knew.” Alex knew he had a fifty-fifty shot of guessing correctly and he didn’t want to scare Aria by guessing wrong. He looked at her and studied her features for a moment before answering. She actually looked a lot like Michael, but her eyes and nose were all Clay. “Your daddy is Clay.”

Aria clapped. “Right!” 

“Okay, I think we got enough stuff for a few days. We can always buy more if we need. Let’s get out of here.” Michael put the backpack over his shoulder and bent to pick up Aria.

They got to Alex’s SUV and went to put Aria in the back seat. She frowned at Michael. “Where’s my car seat? I can’t go in a car without my car seat.”

“Aria, this is an emergency. Remember why your mommy had you call me? We have to get you someplace safe.” Alex tried to explain. 

Aria crossed her arms. “Mommy said never get in a car without a car seat.”

Michael groaned. “Just put her in the car, Alex.”

“I won’t go!” Aria stomped her foot. 

Alex rolled her eyes. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say she was your daughter. Stubborn as hell.”

Michael knelt down to Aria’s level. “Sweetheart, we need to leave. It’s not safe here. Grandpa could come back.”

“But my car seat is right there!” Aria pointed to the car in front of Alex’s SUV. 

Michael walked to the car and peered inside. There was a car seat strapped in the middle seat. He used his telekinesis to open the door. Before he unhooked it, he studied how it attached to the seat. He had it unbuckled and installed into Alex’s backseat in minutes. 

Alex handed Aria to Michael, and he strapped her in. “Better?”

Aria nodded. “You said you wanted me safe. Now I’m safe.”

Michael got into the driver’s seat and waited for Alex to get into the passenger seat. “Call Isobel and tell her to rest because I want her to use her powers. We need to make sure this isn’t some kind of elaborate set up.”

Alex looked back at Aria and he knew this wasn’t a trap, but he understood Michael’s reasoning. “Okay, but I want to go in with Isobel.”

After Alex called Isobel and explained what they had found he began typing away again on his laptop, trying to figure out where exactly Clay was so he could contact him. He wasn’t having much luck; it looked like he was on another covert mission. He sighed and closed the laptop. 

“What’s wrong?” Michael asked.

“I can’t find Clay.” Alex whispered so Aria wouldn’t overhear.

“Is that good or bad?” Michael glanced at him. 

“I’ll know once I talk to some people back at base. There is a general I trust who isn’t in my father’s back pocket. He’ll be able to get me some answers.” Alex looked back at Aria and smiled. “How are you doing back there, sweetheart?”

Aria whimpered. “I miss mommy and I have to go potty.”

Alex swung his eyes to Michael. “What do we do?”

Michael looked at Alex and had to stifle a laugh. Alex’s eyes were comically wide with undisguised panic. “Um, we find her a bathroom? Did you suddenly forget what a potty is?”

“B-but she’s a little girl...I’m not taking her into a disgusting men’s room.”

Michael did laugh at that. “Does that fancy laptop of yours do more than hack into government files?”

“What? Yes, of course, it does anything a normal laptop does.” Alex frowned. 

“Well, find the nearest rest stop or Target. They both have family restrooms. How do you not know this?” Michael asked.

“How do you?” Alex fired back while searching for the nearest Target.

“Years in the foster care system taking care of the little kids while the foster moms shopped.” He looked in the rear-view mirror. “Hey, little one, can you hold it for a little bit?”

Before she answered, Alex spoke up. “Take the next exit and turn left at the light. There’s a Target three miles from here.”

“I can wait a little bit.” Aria answered softly.

Michael parked the SUV and waited while Alex got Aria out of the car seat. They walked into the store and glanced around for the restrooms. Michael pointed to the sign behind the registers. “They’re right over there.”

Alex stopped short in front of the family restroom and groaned. Michael looked around him at the huge out-of-order sign. Alex turned to look at him, eyes wide again. “What now?”

Michael rolled his eyes and scooped Aria up into his arms. “For Christ’s sake, Alex you cannot really be this clueless. Just wait here. We’ll be right back.”

Alex watched them disappear into the men’s room. He stood in front of the door and folded his arms. Michael reappeared a few minutes later with a smiling Aria on his hip. He looked at the line of grumpy looking men in front of Alex and laughed. “Sorry, guys, potty emergency.”

Most of the men shook their heads and smiled as Alex stepped aside and let them in the bathroom. Michael leaned in and kissed Alex on the cheek. “You are ridiculous. Ridiculous but sweet. Now, let’s get this little one back to Roswell so we can find out what the hell is going on.”


	2. Chapter 2

They weren’t on the road long when Aria spoke. “Uncle Alex?”

Alex turned in his seat to look at her. “You okay back there, little one?”

“I’m hungry.” 

Michael caught her eye in the rearview mirror. “Big hungry or little hungry?”

Aria’s voice wavered. “Big hungry. I only had snacks in the safe place.”

“Don’t cry sweetie, we’ll get you something to eat. What’s your favorite?” Michael asked.

“Pancakes with a face.” Aria smiled. 

Alex’s fingers were already flying across the keys of his laptop. “There’s an IHOP in the next town.”

Michael glanced at Alex and gave him a goofy grin. 

“What?” Alex entered the address into the GPS.

“Pancakes with a face?” Michael said, soft with affection.

Alex shrugged, not meeting Michael’s eyes. “It’s a Funny Face Pancake…not sure why you’re surprised I know it. Isn’t it your favorite?”

Michael continued to smile. “You remember that?”

“Michael, I remember every moment we spent together.” Alex took his hand and brought it to his lips.

Aria giggled from back seat and Alex blushed but didn’t let go of Michael’s hand.

They pulled into the parking lot of the IHOP a half hour later. Alex unbuckled Aria and lifted her to the ground. She held her arms up to him. “Can you carry me like Daddy?”

Alex lifted her into his arms and she rested her head on his shoulder. “I love you, Uncle Alex.”

Alex felt a lump in his throat. He knew this little girl for less than five hours and already he’d do anything to keep her safe. “I love you too, sweetie.”

She sighed and reached out to touch Michael’s hair as they walked. “I love you too, Uncle Michael.”

“I’m not really your uncle but I love you too, little one.” Michael pressed a kiss to her forehead.

Aria smiled. “But you will be. I can tell.”

Curious, Alex asked. “How can you tell?” 

“I’m not sure. It’s just something I feel, in here.” Aria pointed to her chest. “It feels like when Mommy and Daddy smile at each other.”

Michael leaned in to Alex. “I wonder if she’s guessing or she senses something.”

“I have no idea but I like the way she thinks.” Alex winked at him before opening the door and heading into the restaurant. 

The hostess fawned over Aria while she led them through the crowded restaurant to a table near the window. Alex set Aria next to him in the booth and Michael slid across from them. 

Alex handed Michael a menu and opened his. He was still deciding when a server approached. “Would you like to order or do you need more time?”

“I want the pancake face, please. And a glass of chocolate milk.” Aria said politely.

Michael closed his menu. “I’ll have the same, but I’ll have a coffee instead of chocolate milk.”

“Aww, that’s sweet. You and your dad are having the same thing.” The server smiled.

“He’s not my daddy.” Aria said simply.

“Oh, I’m terribly sorry...I just assumed...you look a lot alike.” The server quickly apologized.

“No worries. We’re her uncles.” Michael gestured to Alex and himself.

The server smiled, relieved that she hadn’t offended anyone. She turned to Alex. “What would you like?”

“I think I’ll have what they’re having.” He smiled and handed the menus back.

“Three Funny Face pancakes coming right up.” 

The server left and Alex opened the pack of crayons she left for Aria. He turned her menu over and showed her all the activities she could do while they waited.

“Can you color with me?” She handed him one of her crayons.

“What would you like to color?” Alex took the crayon.

“You can color the pancakes. I want to draw a picture of us.” Aria announced.

Alex colored the pancakes on the menu, watching Aria draw three stick figures holding hands. She looked up at him and smiled. “Can I bring this home so I can show Mommy and Daddy when they get back?”

“Of course, little one.” Alex placed a kiss in her hair.

Alex glanced at Michael and frowned. “Why do you have that look on your face?”

“What look?” Michael straightened up.

“Like you want to...uh...never mind.” Alex blushed. 

Michael chuckled. “I’ll tell you later. Right now, it looks like our pancakes are coming.” 

@@@

Aria slept most of the ride back to Roswell, which was good because Michael had a feeling no one was going to be getting any kind of sleep for a while. Once they passed the Welcome to Roswell sign, Alex called Isobel and told her to have everyone meet at his house. 

Michael pulled up next to his truck and let out a sigh. “Well, we’re home and once we get inside we’ll be safe for a bit, right?”

“Yes. As soon as everyone gets here, I’ll turn the alarms back on. No one is getting inside without my approval. And if they try, we’ll know.” He got out of the car and carefully lifted a still sleeping Aria out of her car seat. She whimpered in her sleep and snuggled closer to him. Alex placed a soft kiss in her hair and headed to the front door. 

Once inside, he sat down with Aria and took a deep breath. “Can you put a pot of coffee on?”

“The expensive one you hoard for yourself or the one you serve everyone else?” Michael asked, heading to the kitchen.

“The good stuff. We both need it. That coffee at IHOP was awful. Thank you for coming with me. I’m not sure how it would have gone if you weren’t there.” Alex ran his hand up and down Aria’s back, trying not to think of what his father might have done to her mother. 

Michael walked back into the living room and sat next to Alex. “You would have been fine, potty crisis aside. I’m a little worried about what Isobel is going to find. But I’m also very curious.”

“I just don’t understand why Clay kept this a secret. I mean, I do, but he obviously knows about aliens. Why wouldn’t he at least tell me?” Alex wondered.

“Maybe he was just trying to keep them safe? I mean, you haven’t spoken to him in years, how was he supposed to know you know about aliens?” 

“That’s true. I just wish I knew what was going on.” Alex countered.

“No use speculating right now. Why don’t we wait until Isobel gets here? I’m sure we’ll have a lot more answers once she gets into Aria’s head.” Michael pulled Alex close and gave him a soft, lingering kiss. 

Isobel and Greg were the first to arrive, Max, Liz, Rosa, Kyle and Maria not far behind. Isobel knelt in front of Alex. “Oh my god, she’s beautiful! Are you sure she’s one of us?”

“I felt her as soon as we got out of the car and she’s been communicating with me in my head, so yeah it’s safe to say she’s one of us.” Michael watched his sister’s hand shake when she reached out to smooth Aria’s curls. 

“Do you want me to wake her up?” Alex asked.

“In a minute. I just want to look at her. I thought we were the only ones left.” Isobel tried to regain her composure.

Greg knelt beside her and rubbed her back, trying to comfort her. Max raised an eyebrow to Michael, who just smirked back. 

Alex gently moved Aria so he could see her face. “Aria. It’s time to wake up.”

Aria slowly opened her eyes and smiled at Alex. “Did you find mommy?”

“Not yet, sweetheart. I have a few people I want you to meet.” Alex sat her on the couch next to him. She looked around at the faces of the unknown visitors and her smile brightened.

She jumped off the couch and threw herself at Greg. “Uncle Greg! Daddy said I’d get to meet you soon. Did he send you to help Uncle Alex keep me safe?”

Greg was about to answer when Aria noticed Isobel kneeling on the floor next to him. “You’re like me too!” She turned back to Alex. “Mommy and Daddy didn’t say you knew people like me. Is everyone here like me?”

Alex took a deep breath and tried not to let Isobel’s soft sobs or Max’s look of complete shock distract him from answering her. “No, sweetheart. Only Michael, Isobel and Max. Well, Rosa and Maria are a little bit like you too.”

Aria looked around the room and locked eyes with Max. “You can heal like Grandma.”

Max opened his mouth to speak, but Alex held up his hand. “Aria, can you answer some questions now?”

Aria tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. “What kind of questions?” 

Isobel’s hand flew to her mouth. Michael understood why, Aria looked just like Alex and Greg when they questioned something. The more he looked at her, the more the resemblance to the brothers came out, but at the same time there was something oddly familiar about her.

“We need to find out what happened to your mommy.” Alex replied.

“Can’t I just show you? It’s easier for me. Isobel knows how.” Aria asked.

Alex’s eyes widened again. “Aria, you need to be careful. Not everyone knows...”

“Don’t worry, Uncle Alex, I know everyone here knows about me.”

“How do you know that?” Isobel looked between Alex and Michael. 

“I can hear you. Mommy taught me how to hear if people were safe. You’re all safe. I know to be very careful until I know it’s safe. I can show you whatever you need to find mommy.” Aria held her hand out to Isobel.

“I want to go in with you.” Alex took Isobel’s other hand. 

Aria tilted her head again. “You can all come inside.”

“I’ve never brought so many people in the mindscape before.” Isobel protested. 

Aria giggled. “You won’t be bringing anyone in. I will. Your power will just help me find the right things to show.” She turned to Maria. “Maria, can you take off your necklace please? It’s hurting me.”

“I thought the necklace was supposed to block alien powers, not hurt them.” Maria reached around to unclasp her necklace. She set it on the coffee table. 

“Maybe hurt is the wrong word. I can’t hear you and I don’t know why.” Aria repled.

“Can you hear everything we’re all thinking all the time?” Max sat forward on the chair to look at her. 

“I’m not supposed to. I’m sorry. I’m getting better but mommy says when I’m scared it’s harder to control.” Aria’s lip trembled and Alex pulled her close before she cried.

Liz smacked Max. “Nice one. Make the little girl cry.”

Max held his hands up. “I’m sorry. I’m not mad, just curious.”

“Uncle Alex, I didn’t mean to read the thoughts. I’m sorry.”

Alex hugged her tight. “It’s okay, sweetheart. I know this is all scary. No one is mad at you.”

“What do we have to do to go inside the mindscape?” Isobel rubbed her hand over Aria’s back to help Alex calm her.

Aria sniffled. “Just hold hands. It’s better if you hold my hand, Isobel. I’m still learning and I can borrow your strength, but it doesn’t matter for the others.” 

Isobel looked at the others. “You can’t lie in there so if you don’t feel comfortable with possibly spilling some deep dark secret it’s best you don’t go in.”

“And I don’t want to overwhelm Aria so only Isobel or myself ask anything.” Alex looked around at his friends to make sure they all understood. When he received everyone’s agreement he took Aria’s hand and reached for Michael with his other hand. Isobel took Aria’s free hand and reached for Greg with her other hand. 

They were all swiftly transported to Aria’s bedroom. Aria was sitting on her bed, her mother next to her and her father standing in the center of the room. They all watched the scene unfold.

_**“I have to go away for a few months. I want you to go stay with your family.” Clay told his wife.**_

****

****

_**“You know I can’t travel like this.”**_

_**Clay knelt in front of his wife and kissed her stomach. “But I need you to be safe. Something doesn’t seem right about this. I have a feeling my father has something to do with this last-minute mission.”**_

_“ **Then send us to your brother. You said he would protect us.”**_

_**Clay sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “He will. If you need him, he’ll protect you, but he doesn’t know about you and Aria.”**_

_****_

_****_

_**“Clay! It’s been long enough. You need to tell him and Greg. If I can’t go home, I’m going to your brothers. You know it’s the only way to keep Aria safe. Elara will understand. Especially after what your father saw.”**_

**_Clay kissed his wife again. “And you and the baby. You have to be safe too. Okay, we’ll ask Alex for help in the morning. I have to go to the base for a little while, but I’ll be back tonight.”_**

The scene shifted, and they were now in Aria’s parent’s room. Isobel spoke. “Wait. Before you show us more, I have a question. Who is Elara?”

Aria looked like she was going to cry. “I can’t lie in here. You know that, Isobel. Please don’t make me tell the secret.”

Alex picked Aria up. “It’s okay. Nobody is going to be mad if you tell any secrets in here. We need to know everything so we can figure out where your mommy is.”

Aria nodded. “Elara is my great grandmother. Mommy and Daddy never told you or Uncle Greg about us is because Elara said we had to be kept safe from Grandpa. That he might hurt us if he knew.”

“Did Grandpa visit a lot?” Greg asked, earning him a glare from Isobel. 

“No. I never met him and I don’t think Mommy did either. But Daddy showed me lots of pictures so I would know who he was. If I ever saw him I was supposed to run and hide.”

Alex was starting to understand his brother’s motivation for keeping his wife and daughter a secret. He was afraid their father would take them. He wondered if Clay knew about Project Shepard, and that’s why he was reluctant to confide in Alex. 

“Your great grandmother is still alive? Are there more of us?” Max asked.

Isobel spun on him. “What part of only me or Alex asks her questions, do you people not understand? Stop. That’s not relevant to finding her mother. When we do, we can discuss who we all are. Our only priority right now is finding...Aria, what’s mommy’s name?”

“Kitara but Daddy calls her Kitten or sometimes Kitty Cat, but Mommy doesn’t like that.” Aria giggled.

“Okay, I don’t want to hear another word from anyone unless I tell you to speak. Aria, honey, can you show us what happened the day Grandpa took your mommy?” Isobel prodded.

The scene changed again to a kitchen. 

_**Kitara was washing dishes while Aria ate her breakfast. She looked up out the window and dropped the mug she was drying. “Aria! Go to the secret place. Hurry! If I don’t come to get you before the phone says twelve, call Uncle Alex. Do you remember what to say?”**_

****

****

_**Aria stood and ran to her mother. “Yes, Mommy. I ask for help and tell him Grandpa took you.”**_

**_“ **Go my little star. Grandpa is right outside and I don’t want him to find you.”**_ **

****

****

“Why didn’t Kitara just go with Aria? I wouldn’t have found the room if she hadn’t called out to Michael.” Alex asked Isobel.

“I don’t know. And I’m not sure Aria can tell us.” Isobel looked down at Aria. “Is there anything else you need to show us?”

Aria started to cry again. “I heard what Grandpa said to Mommy.” 

“If it’s too sad, you don’t have to show us.” Alex told her.

“But you have to hear so you can find Mommy!” 

“Okay, we’ll listen and then we’ll rest.” Isobel told her.

“Don’t let Grandpa hurt me too.”

“Never. He will never hurt you.” Alex promised.

They stayed in the kitchen, but instead of a scene, voices floated around them.

_**“You need to leave. You’re not welcome here.” Kitara spat out.**_

****

****

_**“You’re coming with me.” Jesse replied.**_

_**“No. I’m not. Get out of my house.” There was a pause and Kitara’s voice became frantic. “What did you do to me?”** _

_**“I know what you are and I know what you did to my son. You and your alien spawn will pay for turning my son into a traitor. Now where is she?” Jesse yelled.**_

_**“She’s gone. I sent her away. You’ll never find her. And once Clay finds out what you’ve done he will burn the world down to find me. You don’t understand what he will do to you if you hurt us.” Kitara was crying.**_

_**Jesse laughed. “By the time Clay comes home, there won’t be anything left to find. We don’t actually want you. We want the children. Now tell me where the other one is!”**_

_“ **I will die before I tell you!”**_

**_**“Oh, I don’t doubt you will try. But when I’m done with you, not only will I have them both, but you’ll wish for death. Now move. I’ll come back for her. She can’t hide forever.”**_**

Isobel pulled them out of the mindscape. “Alex, can you find out where Clay is right now? I’m sure he can fill in a lot of the information we seem to be missing.”

Alex held Aria in his lap and rubbed her back, trying to get her calm enough to nap. Kids needed naps, right? “There is a general I can ask, but I’m not sure if I can get Clay brought home. I’m going to try, but it’s going to be hard without telling the General what’s going on and that puts Kitara in danger. If someone who doesn’t know what she is finds her, they’ll figure it out once they examine her. I don’t want to take that risk unless absolutely necessary.”

“Why didn’t Clay or Kitara call you when they decided they were coming here?” Max asked.

“Since neither of them is here right now to ask, I have no idea. My guess is because he was afraid their phones were bugged.” Alex answered. 

“But Aria called you.” Rosa pointed out. 

“She had a burner phone. Michael, can you get it from my backpack?” Alex gestured to the backpack sitting on the floor at the end of the couch.

Michael grabbed the backpack and dug around until he found the phone. He handed it to Alex, who handed Aria to him. “She’s almost asleep.”

He tried to turn the phone on, but it had no charge. Sighing, he moved to stand, but Michael stopped him. “What do you need?”

“I have a box of cables and chargers for work. They’re in the office.” Alex answered. 

Michael closed his eyes and a minute later the box floated into the living room and right into Alex’s lap. He winked at Alex, who just shook his head and smiled. “Show off.”

Once the phone was plugged in, Alex waited until it turned on and began flicking through it. The others started talking while he worked. 

“How does Clay even know about aliens? And how did he know Alex would drive seven hours based on a phone call from a child?” Max asked.

Rosa side eyed him. “Would you drive seven hours if a child called you?”

“Touché. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact there are more of us. From the sounds of it, a lot more of us.” Max replied.

“I don’t understand why Clay didn’t call you before he left. Why leave their safety in the hands of a four-year-old?” Kyle wondered.

“Because he was supposed to come home from the base. He didn’t. Something isn’t right.” Alex frowned down at the phone. 

“What did you find?” Greg moved to look over Alex’s shoulder. 

Alex looked up at him. “A text he sent Kitara. He was planning on coming home that night and calling me. Instead, he told Kitara to call me to come get them, get rid of their car and hide them here until he came home. Apparently, his CO told them the mission was time sensitive, and they were shipping out immediately. His team wasn’t given a chance to call their loved ones. He took a huge chance sending this.”

“How do you know it’s real? I mean, wouldn’t it have been better to text Kitara and tell her to run?” Isobel held her hand out for the phone. 

Alex raised an eyebrow but handed it over. “No, because if he had, my father could have taken them both and we wouldn’t have any chance to get them back. Clay is smart. They had a plan but for some reason Kitara didn’t follow it. She was supposed to stay in the safe room with Aria until I got there. I don’t know why she didn’t. But she should be safe for now. You heard my father, he only wants the children. He won’t risk hurting her because that would hurt the baby. I just wish I knew how far along she is.”

“She said she couldn’t travel, so that means she’s around thirty-six weeks. That doesn’t give us much time. It’s her second child and they tend to come early. Plus, she’s in a very stressful situation, which doesn’t help. We need to find her before she goes into labor.” Kyle informed them.

“I have to go to the base. Will you guys be okay with her?” Alex asked the group.

Isobel raised her eyebrow at him. “She’s one tiny four-year-old. You’re looking at three super powered aliens, one doctor, one ex-naval officer, a biochemist, a psychic, and a resurrected teen with alien powers. I think we’ll be fine. It’s you I’m worried about. What if you ask the wrong questions and you get thrown in a cell or something?”

“First, I know who and what to ask, and second, Michael and I have a plan for the worst-case scenario.” Alex looked to Michael.

“If that plan involves us leaving you in the hands of Dad, then no. Not happening.” Greg folded his arms across his chest.

Michael shook his head. “It doesn’t. But nothing is going to happen, right Alex?”

“Do you really have to go to the base to ask your questions? Can’t you just call?” Maria looked worried. 

Alex sighed. “Nothing is going to happen to me. And no, I can’t just call him. This isn’t something I can discuss over the phone. That text Clay left means the Army wasn’t following protocol. Even if he couldn’t tell Kitara where he was going, he should have been allowed to call her and tell her he wasn’t coming home. The fact he wasn’t allowed means someone didn’t want her to know. My guess is she went to sleep thinking he was just late and when he wasn’t there in the morning, she put their plan in place. I know this is dangerous, but my father has no way of knowing I have Aria.”

“I’d feel better if we had a way to know you were safe. Too bad we can’t put a tracker on you.” Greg muttered.

Alex and Michael shared another look. 

Isobel noticed and smirked. “Don’t worry, honey, Alex has a tracker on him. An alien tracker. When did you have the time?”

“I’ve had it for a few days.” Alex mumbled.

“What? Couldn’t quite hear you?” Isobel teased.

Michael and Alex both glared at her. 

“Will someone explain, please?” Greg demanded.

“Michael put a handprint on Alex. If something goes wrong, he’ll know.” Isobel couldn’t hide her smile. 

“Wait...you two are back together?” Liz looked between the two. 

“Honey? Isobel, is there something you want to tell us?” Max raised an eyebrow. 

Alex groaned. “Stop it. Michael and I are working things out and leave Greg and Isobel alone. We don’t have time for this right now. You can grill us later.”

Liz put her hands up. “I was just asking a question.”

“Uh-huh, just a question. Are you all good to stay here, does anyone need to leave? I shouldn’t be gone long, but you never know.” Alex asked.

“I have to open the Pony. Let me know if you need anything.” Maria stood to leave.

“I have a shift at the hospital in the morning but I’ll stay until you get back.” Kyle replied.

Alex stood and started looking for his keys. Michael floated them from the kitchen. Alex leaned down and gave him a quick kiss. “Thank you. I’ll call on my way back.”


	3. Chapter 3

Alex sat outside General Ben Henckel’s office trying to organize his thoughts. He knew he could trust the General with anything, but this whole situation was so crazy and he needed to make sure he kept the alien secret. 

The general came out of his office and greeted Alex. “Alex! I wasn’t expecting you today. Is this business or personal?”

Alex stood and saluted. “General. It’s a little of both.”

The general waved him into his office. Alex waited until he sat down to take his seat. “Sir, I need help with my family.” 

“Okay, first off, drop the formality. What has that poor excuse of a father done this time?”

Alex shifted in his seat. The general knew a lot of what his father had done to him in the past. It was hard to hide the bruises and broken bones when he returned from the leave the first time. His father had found out that he was still ‘indulging in his perversions’ and ‘tarnishing the family name.’ Alex refused to tell his CO what had happened, and the CO was yelling at him when the general happened by. He took one look at Alex and the nature of his injuries and guessed what had happened. He dismissed Alex’s CO and spent hours trying to get Alex to confide in him. He wore Alex down with gentle words and finally won his trust when he said if he’d have had his way, Jesse Manes would have been discharged from the Air Force long ago for the abuse he inflicted on all his sons. Alex hadn’t realized until that moment how much he needed to hear from an adult that what his father did was wrong. It wasn’t toughening him up, it wasn’t making him a man, it wasn’t curing him of his perversion, it was just...wrong.

“Alex, you know by now that whatever you say to me will never leave this room.” The general coaxed.

Alex took a leap of faith that he wasn’t about to get his sister-in-law killed. “My brother Clay was just deployed on what seems to be a classified mission, but something isn’t right. He went to the base for a briefing and never came home. He also didn’t call...home.”

The general eyed Alex. “There’s something you’re not telling me.”

“I need to talk to him. There’s been a development and time is of the essence.” Alex was still wary of telling anyone about Clay’s wife and daughter. 

The general nodded. “Okay, I understand your hesitance to tell me everything, but you have to know you can trust me.”

Alex sighed. “This isn’t in his file so while I completely trust you I need to know you won’t have to disclose this when you inquire where he is.”

“You have my word.” The General promised. 

“My brother is married. His pregnant wife is missing and his four-year-old daughter is currently under my protection.” Alex waited to see his reaction. 

The general’s demeanor changed in an instant and he reached for his phone. Alex’s heart started to beat faster, and he stood to stop the general. “What are you doing?”

“Alex, sit down. This is bigger than you know. Right now, I’m trying to stop an international incident. If something happens to Clay’s wife and unborn child, we’re looking at a war we aren’t prepared to win.” The general picked up the phone and dialed. “I need Captain McNally down here immediately and get the team ready. Kitara Manes is missing.”

Alex slid back into his chair and stared at the general. He waited until he hung up the phone to speak. “You know. How do you know? What do you know?”

“I will answer all your questions, but I have a few of my own first. You said Aria is safe, who is taking care of her?”

“My-my...uh, boyfriend.” Alex wasn’t sure what was going on, and he wasn’t prepared to let the alien secret out of the bag just yet. 

“So you and Michael finally got your heads out of your asses? Good, that’s good. Who else is with Michael? Are Max and Isobel there? Greg? Wish I knew what it was with you Manes boys and getting involved with aliens.”

The general’s casually spoken words shook Alex. “Y-you know?”

“Yes. I know all about the Libya landing in 1946. The Roswell crash in 1947. Michael, Isobel, and Max emerging from the pods in 1997. Noah Bracken’s death in 2018. And Rosa Ortecho’s subsequent resurrection. Did I miss anything?” 

Alex sat staring at the General, not quite knowing where to start. He felt waves of confusion, followed by love and comfort coming through his bond with Michael, and knew he must be sending all his emotions to Michael. “Libya?”

“I will brief you on everything once McNally gets here and we can figure out who took Kitara.” The General began.

“My father took her.” 

The General reached for his phone again. “Jesus Christ, Alex! Why the hell didn’t you lead with that?” 

He pinched the bridge of his nose and waited for someone to answer the phone. “We need to contact Libya. Jesse Manes has Kitara. You think I want to contact them? That’s probably the last thing I want to do, but we have no choice.” 

Alex jumped at the knock on the door. The general slammed the phone down and bellowed. “Get your ass in here!”

The door opened, and a young female walked into the room, closing the door behind her. “I’m sorry, sir.”

“I don’t want to hear any excuses. Captain Naomi McNally, I’d like you to meet Captain Alex Manes.” The general nodded to Alex. 

The captain saluted. Alex stood and saluted back. He turned to the general. “Can someone please explain what is going on?”

“Sit and we’ll explain everything.” The general ordered.

Alex sat down and waited. 

Naomi spoke as if she were reciting from a history book, but a strange history from a different planet. “In 1946, an Antarian science team landed in the Libyan desert. They were on a mission to make sure Earth was suitable for the refugees that were coming. They stayed under the radar while they conducted their research. When the time was right, they revealed themselves to a group of Libyan scientists. The military was brought in and things were tense for a while. In exchange for technology that would help their country, the Libyan government offered them space to create a refuge for the people who were coming. In 1947, five Antarian ships were scheduled to land in the Libyan desert where they would be kept safe and integrated into society.”

The General took over when Naomi looked towards him. “Unfortunately, one ship didn’t make it. I’m guessing you know the rest of the story.”

“Yes, the ship crashed in Roswell, setting off a chain of events I’m still trying to clean up. If the Air Force knew all this why were the aliens slaughtered and held captive in Caulfield? Why weren’t they transported to Libya?” Alex was thoroughly confused. “And why are we discussing this now? We’re wasting time. My sister-in-law is out there somewhere with my psychopath of a father just waiting for her to go into labor so he can do god knows what kind of testing on my niece or nephew.”

“You’re right. We can discuss details later. Right now I need you to tell me how Aria came to be under your protection.” The general leaned back, hoping when Alex found out that Libya didn’t know about Caulfield or his aliens, he could calm his anger. He knew that was a ridiculous hope, but he held onto it all the same. 

“She called me.” Alex replied. He started his explanation with the midnight phone call and ended it with him coming to talk to the general. “Right now, she’s at my house with Michael. She’s safe.”

“Do you have any idea where your father could be holding her?” The general asked.

Alex quirked an eyebrow. “If I knew, I wouldn’t be here right now. Sir, I don’t understand all the politics involved with Libya and I’m not sure I care right now. All I know is that my sister-in-law is in danger and my brother is halfway across the world, probably terrified for her safety. Can you get him brought home?”

“I’ll make some calls and have him transferred here. When was the last time you saw your father?”

“A month ago, right after he was discharged from the hospital. He was still trying to get me to believe the aliens were a threat. I walked away from him and haven’t seen him since. I don’t know what he’s planning. I dismantled Project Shepard and Caulfield blew up. Is there another secret project I don’t know about?” Alex could feel Michael pushing waves of comfort and love at him. He unconsciously brought his hand to the handprint. 

The general noticed Alex put his hand on his chest and close his eyes. “Are you okay, Alex?”

His eyes snapped open, and he dropped his hand. “Yes. I’m just trying to remember if my father said anything else that could be helpful.”

“Maybe Clay will have some information we can use. Let me make those calls and get him back here. It could take a few days. Will you be okay with Aria? We can take her here until someone from Libya gets here if you’d rather.” The general offered. 

“No, I want to keep her with me. My brother trusted me to protect her, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do. You think the aliens in Libya will send someone here?” Alex questioned. 

The general looked nervous. “They will. And hopefully we’ll have Kitara back before they get here. If we don’t I’m not exactly sure what is going to happen. Captain McNally will keep you company until I make my calls. I’ll send for you when I’m done.”

Alex stood and saluted the general and followed Naomi into the hall. She turned to him and smiled. “You don’t have to stay with me if you’d rather go to your office and wait. I don’t mind.”

“I’d like to ask you some questions if you don’t mind.” Alex gestured for her to follow him to his office.

“If I can answer them, I will.” She followed Alex down the hall. 

Once they were inside his office, Alex gestured for her to sit. “How long have you known about aliens?”

“They assigned me to aid the general right after basic, so about five years.” She answered.

“You’ve got a few years on me.” Alex laughed.

“But the general said you’ve been together with one of the three since you were seventeen? How long have you known?” 

“Almost two years. I mean I had my suspicions that Michael was hiding something, but never in a million years would I have guessed he was from another planet. I know I should probably ask the general but since you’re here...tell me about Libya.” Alex leaned forward.

Naomi looked uncomfortable, and Alex almost told her to forget he asked when she spoke. “Can I speak freely? You won’t tell the General my opinions?”

“It depends. I’ve known the general since basic, so if it’s something he needs to know...” Alex wasn’t sure what Naomi was going to say.

She sat for a few moments, seeming to weigh what she should or shouldn’t say. Finally, she spoke barely above a whisper. “They don’t know about Roswell.”

Alex was sure he misheard. “What?”

Naomi cleared her throat. “The Antarians don’t know about what happened here. They were told the ship crashed and there were no survivors. Now, this was before the general was in charge and way before my time, but I don’t think it’s right.”

Her statement stunned Alex. Of all the things he expected her to say, that definitely wasn’t it. “They don’t know about Caulfield? Or Max, Isobel, or Michael? Or Noah? How is that possible?”

“I asked the same thing once they briefed me. Apparently, our military wasn’t on board with the Libyan government’s decision to allow the Antarians to live peacefully among us. So when the ship crashed, they lied to the Libyan government about the survivors. They also refused to let the science team come to recover any alien tech. The Antarians were not happy.”

“Okay, that explains what happened back then, but what about now? Why haven’t they been brought up to speed?” Alex had a feeling he wouldn’t like the answer.

“Because the people in the know don’t want to cause an international incident. If they were to find out about Caulfield, your aliens and especially Noah, they’re afraid they won’t react well. But they can’t keep things secret much longer.” Naomi predicted.

“And why is that?” 

“Because an Antarian delegation is on its way. Kitara is important. And I have no doubt that delegation is going to include their current leader, Elara. And once Elara gets here, there will be no keeping our secrets.” 

“Elara? But Aria told us she’s her great grandmother. She’s coming here? Was she born here or on Antar?”

“She was born on Antar.” Naomi answered.

“Even if she was a child when they landed wouldn’t she be over eighty years old?” Alex couldn’t keep the surprise out of his voice or the utter confusion from seeping through his bond to Michael. He knew he was going to have to call Michael soon or he was going to worry.

“Yes, she is, but Antarians age slower than humans. She may be eighty-six but she looks like she’s fifty.” Naomi explained. 

“Are you afraid of retribution when she learns about Caulfield?” Alex wondered.

Naomi shook her head. “She won’t harm innocents for what others did. I’m actually more worried about what she’s going to do when she finds out about Michael.”

“Michael? Why Michael?” 

Naomi took a deep breath, ready to answer when Alex’s phone rang. He picked it up. “Captain Manes. Yes, sir, we’ll be right there.” He hung up the phone and stood. “He found Clay. They’re getting him on the phone so I can talk to him, and then they’re bringing him home. Don’t worry, I won’t tell the General what you told me, but I am going to ask him everything I just asked you.”

They walked in silence to the General’s office. Once back inside the General handed Alex the phone. “Just assure him everything is okay. Do not tell him about his wife. He’ll be home tomorrow, they’re arranging transport right now.”

Alex frowned but nodded and took the phone. The General pushed a button and nodded to him. “Clay?”

“Alex! Do you have them? Are they safe?” The panic in Clay’s voice tore at Alex’s heart.

“Your daughter is beautiful. She’s so smart and brave.” Alex hated lying to his brother.

He heard Clay’s breath hitch with a strangled sob. “You can’t talk freely, can you?”

“The General said you’ll be home tomorrow. I can’t wait to see you. Aria misses you.” Alex replied.

Clay regained his composure. “Something is wrong and you can’t tell me. It’s okay, Alex. Just please keep my baby safe.”

“I’ll protect her. I’ll see you tomorrow. Be safe.” 

“You too, little brother.” Clay hung up the phone and Alex handed the receiver back to the General. 

Alex sat down. “He knows something is wrong.” 

“I knew he would, but I don’t want him spending the next eighteen plus hours worrying.” 

“And you don’t think he’s worrying now?” Alex shook his head in disbelief.

“There’s nothing that can be done now. He’ll be home in the morning.” 

“General, I think I’d like to ask some questions now.” Alex said.

The General pulled out papers from a pile on his desk. “You need to sign these NDAs before I can brief you.”

Alex read them over and shook his head before handing them back. “You’re going to need to get legal to revise these because I’m not keeping anything I learn a secret from Max, Isobel or Michael.”

The General sighed. “Just once, can’t you follow the rules? Do you always have to rock the boat?”

“Forgive me, sir, but what I learn today involves them. Do you understand what a shock it was to find out my niece is one of them? I won’t keep secrets from my family and they are my family. So, if legal won’t revise them, I’ll just wait until the Libyan delegation gets here. I’m sure they won’t have me sign anything.” Alex knew he was pushing the General, but he needed to know what the Air Force was hiding. 

The General glared at Alex. “Don’t make me regret this. We’re going to need them to sign their own NDAs.” He picked up the phone. “This is General Henckel, I need you to send me NDAs. Michael Guerin, Max Evans, Isobel Bracken...”

“Evans.” Alex corrected. “You need to add Gregory, Liz and Rosa Ortecho, Kyle Valenti and Maria DeLuca.”

The General shook his head at Alex while he continued to talk to the legal department. “Change that to Isobel Evans. Just one more, Gregory Manes. Thank you.” He hung up the phone and rubbed his forehead. “You are going to be the death of me, you know. I am not bringing the Ortechos or Kyle Valenti into this, and definitely not Maria DeLuca. I’m going out on a limb, adding Gregory to the list. The only reason I am is because I know you or Clay will just tell him everything without an NDA. You’re going to have to get them to sign these before I can answer anything. The higher-ups are not going to be pleased we are divulging classified information...”

Alex raised an eyebrow. “Classified information about their own history? Things that should have been told to them by the people being held captive for seventy years? Did you know Michael’s mother died in Caulfield? I’m guessing that didn’t have to happen, did it? Once those NDAs get here, I’ll email them to Michael and they will all sign.”

“They’ll have to come in to sign them and you know it.” The General argued.

“Absolutely not. I am not bringing four aliens to an Air Force base that I’m not even sure is safe. I trust you, but that trust only goes so far. I need to hear this information before I can decide about bringing my family here.” Alex protested.

Captain McNally cleared her throat. “General, may I speak freely?”

The General waved his hand in a go on motion. He sat back and waited for her to speak. 

“The Antarian delegation will be here in less than fourteen hours. Once they get here, they are going to find out everything. We’ll need Alex and his family to help keep them calm. He needs to know everything so he can help prevent that international incident you are so worried about. Because you know as well as I do that once Elara sets her eyes on Michael, all hell is going to break loose. And she will not hesitate to pull any and all information from whoever she chooses. This way we can try to control the narrative.”

The General regarded Naomi for a minute, then he smiled. “And that is why you are on my team. Brilliant, Naomi, just brilliant. I will tell you everything right here, right now if you agree to run interference with Elara for us.”

Alex glanced at Naomi and then back to the General. “It depends on what you tell me. I will not put my family in danger, any of them. And I consider everyone who is with Aria right now my family. Do you understand? They will not be harmed, by you, the Air Force or the Antarians.”

The General waved his hand. “Of course, of course. Nothing is going to happen. We’ll protect your family.” 

“That actually remains to be seen. I mean, my brother is on a covert op that isn’t following protocol, my sister-in-law is missing, my father has either threatened or killed everyone Michael has ever loved so forgive me for not quite being on board with all this without more information.” Alex sat back in his chair and waited for the General to speak. 

“Okay, Alex, what do you want to know?”

“Exactly who is Elara and why do you want to ‘control the narrative’?” Alex already knew part of the answer, but he wanted to see how the General was going to spin it. 

The General had the decency to look uncomfortable. He cleared his throat. “Elara is one of the original Antarians to land in Libya. She is a genius and has helped with a lot of significant advances in science in the past seventy-three years. She was only fourteen when she arrived, one of four teenagers on board. She is their current leader.”

“Okay, but why are you so worried about how she will react when she sees Michael?” Alex prodded.

The General looked like he was going to be sick. “Because Michael is her brother. And we told her he was dead.”


	4. Chapter 4

Alex sucked in a breath, whatever he was expecting the General to say wasn’t this. “You’re going to have to explain that.” 

“While the Libyan government was perfectly happy to let the Antarians make a home in the desert, the United States was not. We, the Air Force in particular, were convinced they meant to invade Earth and make us their prisoners. Nothing the science team said could convince them otherwise. So, when the ship crashed here in Roswell, Libya was told there were no survivors. And you know the rest.” The General took a large gulp of water and looked back at Alex, trying to gauge his reaction.

Alex tilted his head to the side and gave the General a confused smile. “I don’t think I do. I mean I know about Project Shepard and Caulfield but I have no idea why nothing was done in over seventy years to right the wrongs of those who lied back in 1947. You said you were aware of Michael, Isobel and Max emerging from the pods. Why wasn’t Libya contacted when that happened or when you found out? And Noah, that whole debacle was obviously never reported either. Tell me, General, how do you _know_ Elara is Michael’s sister? I’m very confused.”

“Stop being condescending, Captain. It’s not a good look on you. Yes, I know we screwed up in more ways than one, but we’re trying to fix things now. I didn’t know about the pods when it happened. I’ve only been in the know since you enlisted. There are many factions in the Air Force, and not all of them have the Antarian’s best interests at heart. Some still think they are just biding their time before they take over. Never mind that they’ve lived peacefully amongst us since 1947. The ones in charge are afraid if we tell the truth now we risk the wrath of Elara and the others. That is why they were never told about Michael and his siblings. I wanted to tell them as soon as they assigned me to keep tabs on your family, but I was overruled and when I almost had them convinced, well, Caulfield happened. Trust me, Alex, I didn’t know about Caulfield until it blew up.”

“I’m still confused how you know Michael is related to Elara? And have you met her before? From what I understand, powers are hereditary, so it’s likely she’s a mind walker. And if that’s true, she would have immediately known about everything the moment she looked into your head.” Alex pressed.

“We’ve never met face to face. It’s only been over the phone or recently video. The Antarian delegation has only been here to the base twice, and both times their powers were blocked. They were not happy with us, but it was the only way to avoid an inevitable confrontation. And to answer your question, Elara knew her brother’s pod was on the ship that crashed. She inquired about it specifically. There is an after action report you can read. Those in charge were not pleased to have to answer a fourteen-year-old child’s questions, but she was royalty of sorts, so they had no choice.” 

“Royalty? You’re going to need to explain that.” Alex was having a hard time blocking the bond with Michael. He could feel Michael’s worry and frustration at the feelings Alex was apparently still leaking to him no matter how hard he tried not to. 

“Her father was their General and her mother well, she was special too. She survived the crash and avoided being caught for over a year. But you know that, don’t you?” The General said.

Alex had no intention of telling anyone what they learned about Nora and his Uncle Tripp. At least not until he met Elara. “We’re not exchanging information here. I’m getting the information that has been denied Michael, Max and Isobel for their entire lives. Her father was a general and that made her royalty?”

“I’m still fuzzy on all the details but the ship that crashed in Roswell was transporting the Royal family, which she was a part of. I don’t know who died in the crash or who died in Caulfield but Elara is the only one left. Well, except for Max, Isobel and Michael.”

Alex’s head was swimming with bits of information that didn’t quite fit together. “You said earlier you were assigned after I enlisted to watch my family. Which family would that be? My blood family or my real family?”

“Funny, you say blood family like its blasphemy, but really you only mean Jesse. You love your brothers.” The General observed.

“Yes, I love all my brothers. I trust Greg, I don’t trust Flint and I haven’t seen Clay in almost twenty years. So I ask again, which family were you keeping tabs on?”

“Jesse and Flint. You were here under my command, more or less. Clay and Greg were far away from Jesse and not a threat to the aliens. We knew your father was hiding something. We never realized it was as big as it was. We honestly thought it was only Project Shepard. Caulfield...he kept that hidden very well.” The general sat back in his chair and let out a weary sigh. “Have I satisfied your curiosity? Will you agree to help us avoid a war?”

“I just have one more question. How did my father know about Kitara? There are no records of their marriage or Aria’s birth. I couldn’t find anything and if I couldn’t find anything we both know damn well my father wasn’t finding anything.” Alex waited patiently for the general to answer. 

The general refused to look directly at Alex when he answered. “We have a mole. We’re trying to find out who it is. Your father has been, let’s say, very active since they released him from the hospital. We’ve been keeping tabs on him but there was a mixup with the rotation and he slipped by us.”

Alex stood. “You knew someone was feeding him information, and you didn’t warn my brother? You left my pregnant sister-in-law alone with a four-year-old while my brother was being shipped out on what I’m guessing is a bogus covert operation? And then you have the nerve to sit here and tell me to keep what I know secret from Michael and his siblings?”

“I didn’t know about his deployment and besides, Kitara can protect herself...” the general protested weakly, knowing Alex was right to criticize them.

“Well, obviously she wasn’t able to protect herself from my father or I wouldn’t be here right now. My guess is he used the pollen to neutralize whatever powers she has. You do have enough antidote on hand for when we find her, right?” He pulled out his phone and unlocked it. 

“Antidote?” Naomi looked to the general, who just shrugged.

Alex shot off a text to Liz that she needed to make sure she had a good supply of the pollen antidote on hand. He then texted Michael to let him know he was okay and would send for him soon, so he needed to get some rest. 

He shook his head at the general. “You don’t know what you’re dealing with do you? You’ve been tasked with keeping them safe, but you have no idea how to do that. While I’m grateful for all you’ve done for me, I fail to see what you’ve done for the aliens. So, yes, I will help you avoid a war with Elara and her delegation because we need them on our side. We need whatever resources they have to find Kitara and stop my father once and for all. When they arrive, I’ll send for Michael and the others. Until then, I need to see everything alien related you have. You’re going to want to get comfortable...it’s going to be a very long fourteen hours.”

Alex and Naomi were barely twenty minutes into looking through the files the general had brought to his office when his phone rang. He glanced at it and saw it was Michael. He hesitated but realized Michael wouldn’t call if it wasn’t important.

“Michael?”

“We have a problem. There are two military SUVs in your driveway.” 

“Are you sure they’re military?” Alex questioned, looking to the general.

“I’m sorry, but Isobel looked. I know she said she wouldn’t do that anymore, but I thought you’d understand. They’re Air Force. General Henckel sent them. What do we do, Alex?” Michael sounded worried, and that just made Alex angry.

“Give me a minute, but don’t hang up.” Alex set the phone on the desk and put it on speaker. “Sir? Can you explain why there are two SUVs in my driveway?”

“They’re for protection. Don’t worry, they won’t be going inside.” The general shifted in his seat.

“A military presence in my front yard is like putting a bullseye on them. If my father sees them he’s going to assume I know something. What were you thinking? I know you’re smarter than that...oh my god...Michael, they’re using you as bait.” Alex stared at the general who had the decency to look away. 

“Bait? Are you fucking serious? What the hell?” Michael yelled. Alex could hear him talking to the others. “We have to get out of here, they’re using us to get Jesse.”

“No! Michael, listen to me and do exactly what I say. I want you to get my guns and the antidote from my safe,” Alex started.

Michael interrupted him. “Uh, Alex, the retinal scan?”

“Use your powers to break it open, I don’t care. Give Greg and Kyle a gun. Have them take Aria and Liz and go to the safe room.” Alex heard Michael tell Greg to follow him. 

“Which guns?” Michael asked, all panic gone from his voice.

“Greg will know which ones to use.” Alex assured him. 

“I don’t like this, Alex. I don’t want to hide away.” Greg said loud enough for Alex to hear. 

“Put me on speaker.” He waited for Michael to do as he asked. “Greg, we need to protect Aria at all costs. I need you in there with her.”

“Why the hell do you have a safe room?” Greg questioned.

“You’re seriously asking me that? You have met our father, haven’t you? Michael will show you where it is. Michael, go back in the living room after you close the safe room.” Alex ordered.

“Is all this really necessary? My men will take care of Jesse if he even shows up.” The general interrupted.

Alex turned and glared at him. “My father ran a secret alien torture prison that no one knew about until it blew up. Forgive me if I have no faith in the airmen sitting in my driveway, probably playing Animal Crossing because you told them it would be a simple mission. Michael, are you back with the others?”

“Yes, it’s just me, Max, Isobel and Rosa. The others are tucked away.”

“I’m so sorry to have to put this on you, but if anyone comes into the house incapacitate them. Try not to kill them unless you have no choice. Rosa, I need you to make sure you have the antidote ready in case my father tries to use the pollen. Michael first, his power is the most destructive, and he has the most control. I’m going to figure out what the hell we’re going to do.”

“Alex, don’t worry. We’ve got this.” Isobel promised him.

“I know, Izzy. I just hate that you have to do it. Michael, take me off speaker.”

“What don’t you want the others to know.” Michael said as soon as they were both off speaker.

“The Air Force has been lying about aliens for years. Aria’s grandmother is coming here in less than thirteen hours. She’s bringing a delegation of other aliens with her. I know it’s a lot to take in right now, but you aren’t alone anymore. There were a lot of survivors from your planet. I promise you I will make sure you get all the answers you need about where you’re from. They also found Clay. He’ll be here in the morning. You need to keep Aria safe, but I need you to be careful. Don’t be reckless. Don’t let anything my father says get to you. If he gets inside, knock him out. Tie him up. If anyone else tries to get in that house, do the same to them.” Alex was shaking with fear or anger, he didn’t know which. 

“Wow...that’s a lot to digest, but we’ll talk about it when you come home. Don’t worry about me, I’m going to be okay. You be careful too. Don’t piss anyone off. I’ll see you soon.”

“Michael...I love you.”

“I love you too, baby.”

Alex hung up the phone and took a deep breath before addressing the general. “Do you understand just how much danger you put my family in? After you _just_ promised me you would protect them? You want to avert a war with the Antarians, but you practically handed Aria to my father. What do you think will happen if Michael can’t stop him?”

“He won’t even get to the house. Those airmen aren’t right out of basic. Give me more credit than that. They’re highly trained and...”

“And what? You think he’s going to just saunter to my front door and ring the bell like he’s coming to dinner? He’s obviously been lying about the effects of his stroke, if he even had one. And he will not come alone.”

The general stood and glared at Alex. “I need you to trust me. I didn’t get where I am by being stupid. I know it’s risky what we’re doing but if we can find Kitara and get her home safely before Clay and the Antarians get here, it’ll be worth it.”

“And if we can’t? What happens if we have to tell Elara we not only lost her pregnant granddaughter but her great granddaughter and the brother she thought was dead? Do you think that’s going to go over well?” Alex watched the general deflate and sit back down. “Yeah, I don’t think so either.”

“We need a plan. Sir, can you contact the team? Maybe alert them that Captain Manes has given orders to everyone inside his house and maybe they can work together?” Naomi said, hoping to end the staring contest between Alex and the general. 

“I can do that. Will that be satisfactory, Captain? I can turn over the team to you.” The General reached for the phone. 

Alex was already pulling his laptop out of the bag at his feet. His fingers flew over the keys and he easily accessed the video feed from his home security. “What does the team know? What do they think their mission is?”

“Only the sniper knows everything. She’s in position already. The rest of them know we are trying to bring your father in. They think he’s unwell and acting irrationally.”

“That sniper knows we need him alive, right?” Alex didn’t look up from his computer. He located the sniper on his neighbor’s roof. “Good thing Mrs. Johnson is on vacation.” He muttered. 

“She does.” The general confirmed. “The entire team does.”

Alex waited while the general contacted the team in the SUVs. He put his phone on speaker and gestured for Alex to speak.

“This is Captain Alexander Manes, I know the General gave you specific orders but I need to add to those orders.”

“Go ahead, Captain.” The voice on the phone said.

“There are four civilians in the living room. No matter what happens, you are not to harm any of them. They have orders to incapacitate anyone who enters the house. I know you’ve been told the Master Sargent is unwell but let me assure you he is extremely dangerous. You need to be on alert because he is not working alone. And you must take him alive. Do not shoot to kill.” Alex waited again for the airman to respond. 

“Understood, Captain. We are on alert and will not enter the house unless absolutely necessary.” 

Alex nodded to the general, who took the phone off speaker. He set the computer on the general’s desk and watched the video feed. “Now we pray my father doesn’t show before the Antarians get here.”

@@@

The hours passed slowly, Alex kept in constant contact with Michael and the team in the driveway. His father hadn’t tried anything and by hour twelve Alex was beginning to relax. Alex had tried to convince Michael he was going to come get them and bring them to the base but Michael had refused. 

“Come get us when the Antarians get there. If something happens, I need to know you are safe.” Michael insisted.

“I need you to be safe too.” Alex countered. 

“You’ll have more aliens to protect you once they get here. It’s going to be fine. They’ll be here soon and we can start focusing on finding your sister-in-law.” Michael assured him.

“When you say it like that, it makes me feel better.” Alex smiled even though Michael couldn’t see him. 

An hour later, the general’s phone rang. He slowly lost all color in his face as he listened. The reason for his pale complexion and nervousness was apparent a few moments later when Alex heard shouting in the hall. The Antarian delegation arrived, and all hell was breaking loose. He stood and raised an eyebrow. “I guess that’s my cue? Anything else I need to know before I got out there and try to calm them?”

“You were right about Elara, she’s a mind walker, if they haven’t dampened their powers she will probably just pull information out of your head. Not that you can do anything about it, but I thought you should know.” Naomi answered, moving to stand next to him. 

Alex chuckled. “That is actually not something I’m worried about.” He reached for the door only to have it flung open. He stared at the woman in front of him and if he didn’t already know, he would have known then she was related to Michael. She was shorter than Michael and definitely thinner, but the curls that hung loosely down her back were obviously a family trait. Her facial expression matched Michael’s when he was irritated, honey-colored eyes not hiding her annoyance. She stepped into the office, the rest of the delegation following behind her. 

She regarded him for a moment, expression softening. She reached with both her hands and smiled when Alex took them. She squeezed his hands. “You look so much like your brother.” 

He knew she was trying to enter his mind, so he kept his expression neutral and waited. 

Her eyes lit up. “You’re bonded to one of us.”

Alex tilted his head in confusion. “Bonded?”

Elara nodded, confusion briefly crossing her features. “You’re blocking me. Your bond mate has taught you well.”

A voice from behind Elara spoke, “Mother...”

Elara turned. “I know, I know.” She turned back to Alex. “I’m sorry, I haven’t come across a human who can block me in a long time. Forgive my curiosity. But my daughter is right, we need to focus on the problem at hand. And unfortunately, I have not been given any information except that my granddaughter has been kidnapped.” 

The general cleared his throat. “I apologize for the secrecy. We can discuss everything right now. Let’s go into the conference room.”

Elara glanced to the general and gave him a tight smile. “General Henckel, I’m glad to finally meet you face to face. I would like to thank you for not muting our powers. I was told they did this on your orders. We appreciate your trust.”

Alex grabbed his laptop and followed everyone into the adjoining conference room. The ten Antarians arranged themselves around the table, Naomi, Alex and the general filling in the empty seats. 

The general cleared his throat. “I’m sorry we have to meet in person under these circumstances. I’d like to introduce Captain Naomi McNally, she has been on my team for the past five years. And you’ve already met Captain Alexander Manes...”

Elara put her hand up to stop the general. “I need answers, not introductions. What happened to my granddaughter? And where is Aria?”

“Aria is safe.” Alex answered. The general gave Alex a pointed look, warning him to tread lightly as to not upset Elara. He was obviously afraid of what she was going to do when she found out the truth. “We are trying to find Kitara. My father took her.”

“I’m well aware that your father is responsible. What I want to know is what is being done to find him?” Elara was losing her patience, and Alex really couldn’t blame her. 

The general spoke again, drawing Elara’s attention. “We have a team of our best airmen working on it.”

Alex was about to speak when his laptop started blaring an alarm. He tore his eyes away from the general and Elara and looked down. He stood and felt his chest tighten in alarm. 

“What’s wrong, Alex?” The general calmly asked.

“Someone has breached the house.” He pulled out his phone and called Michael, but the phone just rang. He threw the phone on the table, his fingers flying across the keys to change video feeds to see the interior of his house. He took in the scene on the screen and felt his careful control slipping. His hands shook, and it took tremendous effort not to scream and throw his laptop across the room. He pressed his hand to his chest, covering the handprint, trying to push comfort through the bond but only got waves of terror back. 

When he finally looked up, all eyes were on him. He slowly turned the laptop towards the general. “I found your mole. Or should I say moles?”

The general paled at the image in front of him. Most of his carefully selected team was standing in Alex’s living room with Jesse Manes. Max and Isobel were motionless on the floor, and Michael was on his knees with at least five rifles trained on him. 

Elara looked at the screen, eyes wild with a mixture of anger and confusion. She watched in horror as they pulled Michael to his feet and marched out the door. Shots rang out and Alex furiously changed the video feed again. The sniper was picking off the traitors one by one, but Jesse was able to get Michael into one of the vehicles before she could get him. 

Alex looked at Elara and let all his walls down, opening his mind to her. “Please help us...help me. I can’t lose him, not again.”

Alex felt Elara enter his mind and he let her, knowing but not caring that she was rifling through all his memories. The landscape shifted, and they were standing in the desert. Sounds and images swirled around them. Bits and pieces of long forgotten conversations filled the air. _ **“Mommy, where are you going? Don’t you love me anymore?” “Stop crying, you’re a Manes man and we don’t cry.” “Wash that shit off your face. You will not embarrass me.” “If I ever see you look at another boy again, I’ll break more than a few ribs.”**_

Elara pushed deeper into Alex’s mind. She tried to be gentle, but all of Alex’s long buried pain tore at his heart. _**“That’s mine, Guerin!” “There’s this shed out behind my house. It’s warm and I go there when things get bad.” “People can be nice for no reason.” “Have you ever done this before?” “Yeah, but not with a guy and not with someone I like as much as I like you.” “This ends now. How dare you? Under my roof.” “Dad, this has nothing to do with you.” “Everything you do...and I will not be humiliated.”**_

Alex tried to close his eyes to block out what he knew was coming, but there was no escaping his memory. In that one moment his life changed, and now Michael’s sister was about to see his biggest failure. Michael’s voice rang out loud and clear. _**“Don’t touch him!”**_ Followed by his own anguished scream. _**“No!”**_

The scene changed again, not giving Alex any time to catch his breath. They were in front of the airstream. _**“I loved you and I think you loved me.” “We connected like something cosmic.” “You wanna know who I am or what I am?” “If someone is going to destroy me, it may as well be you.”**_

Alex wasn’t sure he could take much more, and he almost told Elara that when the scene changed again. A soft whine escaped from his lips, tears he desperately tried to hold back falling freely. _**“Guerin, c’mon we have to go.” “I have to get through.” “The alarm is not a suggestion. Okay? Nothing gets out alive.” “They’re my family, Alex.” “Maybe. But you are mine!” “You gotta go, Alex!” “I don’t look away, Guerin.” “No! Go! I don’t love you. I don’t! We’ve been holding onto this thing. And what? It’s gotten us nowhere. Just let go.” “You’re a miserable liar!”**_

Elara tightened her grip on Alex’s arm. He was sure he was close to passing out. _**“She’s my...she’s my...” “She’s your mother?” “She said she loves me and she said to run.”**_

Elara fell to her knees and let out an anguished scream, the most emotion she showed since pulling him into the mind scape. Alex tentatively reached out to rub her back in a pitiful attempt at comfort. She looked up at him, tears running down her face. She gasped for breath, trying to regain her tightly held control. She nodded at him and let him help her up, releasing him from the mind scape.

Alex registered the general yelling. He blinked and looked around the room. “We didn’t mute your powers because you promised you wouldn’t use them on us. What did you just do to him?”

Elara sat there staring at Alex, not even acknowledging the general. He stared back, hoping he made the right decision in letting her see everything. “You’ve loved him for a long time. Your love saved him.”

“Will you help me?” Alex asked again, ignoring the general’s continued yelling. 

“Yes. We will help you.” She turned her attention to the general, eyes turning dark and unforgiving. “Your concern for Captain Manes would be admirable if it wasn’t self serving. You’re more worried your incompetence will cause a war with my people than if I hurt him. I should be offended that even though you claim to trust us, you have doubts. You fear that I will crush you because of all the lies.”

“General, I offered her my memories. We need them. Right now my father has Michael and Kitara and we have no idea what he’s planning. They needed to know everything, and we don’t have time for NDAs and half truths. From the looks of it, half of your team was in league with my father. We need to get to my house and secure the scene.” Alex tried calling Max and Isobel but neither of them picked up and when he looked at his computer again he saw that neither of them had moved from their positions on the floor. He couldn’t tell if they were breathing or not. He accessed the feed to the safe room and saw everyone inside was safe. He heard a small gasp behind him and turned to see a woman who looked to be in her thirties with her hand over her mouth. 

“They’re keeping her safe. I promised my brother I wouldn’t let anything happen to her.” Alex told the woman. 

The woman smiled through her tears. “Clay is a good man. I’m glad he has someone in his family he can trust. I’m Kamaria, Kitara’s mother.”

“I will do everything in my power to get her back, I promise.” Alex closed his laptop and put it away.

The General cleared his throat. “We need to secure that scene.” 

Alex nodded. He turned to Elara. “Are you comfortable coming with us or would you prefer the safety of the base?”

Elara let out a tight laugh. “I was part of a civil war that ended in my having to fly across a galaxy to find a new home for my people before I even turned fourteen. I’ll be fine.” She stood and motioned for the others to stand. “And while I brought my healers, I also brought my guards.”

The general eyed Elara warily while he quietly addressed Alex, “Does she know about...”

“My brother? The brother your predecessors told me perished in the crash? Yes, I know. And before you waste more of our time, I know everything about the crash and what the Air Force has done. I do not hold you responsible and I will not retaliate for the lies.” 

Elara’s calm demeanor seemed to set the general at ease, until she smiled. “But if anything happens to Michael or Kitara, I may not be able to say the same for the rest of my people.”

The drive to his house was excruciating, the pain from his prosthetic almost unbearable. Alex hadn’t taken it off in over twenty-four hours and thankfully he wasn’t driving. He was in one SUV with Captain McNally, Elara and two of her guards. When they pulled into his driveway, Alex jumped out, twisting his leg in the process. He grabbed onto the door to steady himself and suddenly felt the soft cushion of telekinesis keeping him upright. He glanced at one of the Antarian guards. “Thank you.”

He inclined his head to Alex. “You are welcome.”

Alex pushed past everyone into his house, totally unprepared for the scene in front of him. The sniper had her rifle trained on the door, lowering her weapon only when she recognized him. Her face was blank, but he could see tear stains on her cheeks. She saluted and her voice broke when she spoke. “I tried Captain, I swear I tried. I had the shot, but I knew if I took it we might never find her.” Her eyes flicked briefly to Max and Isobel. “I-I couldn’t save them. She was breathing when I got here but I couldn’t stop the bleeding...I’m so sorry.”

Alex collapsed next to Isobel and stroked her blood stained hair. Tracing his fingers over the wound in her neck, he let out an anguished cry and tried unsuccessfully to get his anger under control. He spun on the general. “You let this happen! Why? Why didn’t you trust me?”

Before the general had a chance to answer, another scream tore through the air. “No..no..no! Max!!” Liz raced across the living room, slipping on Isobel’s blood before crashing to the floor next to Max, sobbing. She cradled his head in her lap.

Out of the corner of his eye, Alex saw Greg slowly making his way toward them, holding Aria’s hand. He struggled to stand up and stopped his brother before he could get to Isobel. “You can’t see her like this...”

Aria let go of Greg’s hand and ran to her grandmother. “Grandma! I knew you’d come! Uncle Alex and his friends said they’d find Mommy.” She noticed Isobel and Max and frowned, tears forming in her eyes. “Grandma, what happened to them? Why aren’t they moving? Is GiGi going to fix it?”

Kamaria hugged her granddaughter and smiled through her tears. “Of course she’s going to fix it. Don’t cry, my darling. They’re going to be fine.” 

Elara nodded to her daughter and motioned to four Antarians before easing Liz out of the way. Alex watched as they lay glowing hands on Max and Isobel. In mere moments, Max was gasping for breath, Isobel not far behind. 

Greg let out a choked sob, tearing away from Alex to rush to Isobel. He pulled her into his arms and held her tight, pressing kisses to her blood-stained face.

Alex sunk into the couch, clutching his chest. He felt like his heart was caught in a vice. The room started to spin and the next thing he knew Kyle was calling his name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know a lot of people wanted all hell to break loose when Elara found out about Michael and I hope I didn’t disappoint too much. Elara and Michael are very much alike but she’s had a long time to learn to keep her emotions and powers in check...if she didn’t the effects would probably be catastrophic! More is coming on Thursday...hope I didn’t leave too much of a cliffhanger...


	5. Chapter 5

Alex opened his eyes. “What happened?”

“You just scared the shit out of me! I thought you were having a heart attack.” Kyle answered.

“I-I think something’s wrong with Michael.” Alex looked around his living room, trying to focus. 

“It’s the bond. It’s reacting to whatever your mate is feeling. Have you ever reacted like this with other handprints?” An Antarian, whose name Alex didn’t know, asked him.

Alex shook his head. “This is the first one.”

“How is that possible? You’ve been bonded since you were seventeen.” Elara sat next to Alex.

“What?” Alex was having trouble focusing.

“You and Michael bonded when you were seventeen. It’s an incomplete bond, but it’s strong. Once we get him back, I can help complete it, but for now we can mute it if you’d like.” She offered.

“No! I need to feel he’s still alive. I’ll be okay.” He turned to Isobel and Max. “What happened?”

Rosa appeared in the doorway. “I’ll tell you what happened. Your boyfriend used his powers on me and forced me into the safe room. When I get my hands on him...” she trailed off when she saw the faces of her friends. She scanned the room. “Where’s Michael?”

“Jesse took him.” Isobel tried to explain. “He pushed you in that room because I told him to. I knew we were minutes away from being breached and I couldn’t let them hurt you. I’m sorry.”

Rosa noticed the blood covering Isobel and Max. “What happened to you two?”

“They were dead, Rosa,” Liz answered. “They were gunned down for protecting us. I know you’re mad at Michael, but he saved your life.” 

“But maybe I could have helped! I have powers too, you know, I’m not some helpless kid!” Rosa shot back.

“But you are. You have powers you can’t harness and that makes you vulnerable. For God’s sake, Rosa, Jesse killed us and made Michael watch. Did you want him to have to watch you die too?” Isobel snapped.

“That’s not the point...” Rosa started.

Alex glared at his friends. “Enough! I need to know exactly what happened. We need to find Michael and Kitara. I need to know what happened. Max?”

Max cleared his throat. “Isobel periodically looked into the minds of the soldiers in the SUVs, I know she shouldn’t have but...”

Isobel cut him off. “I did what was necessary. Using us as bait to draw your father out wasn’t sitting well with me, and I needed to make sure they had our backs. As it turns out not all of them did. When I figured out what was going on, we barely had enough time to get Rosa in the safe room. Gunshots rang out, there was screaming and then Jesse was right there...it all happened so fast. He just shot us, Alex. No warning, no attempts to capture us, he just fired. I will never forget Michael’s screams.”

Greg pulled Isobel close and let her bury her head in his neck. 

The General took out his phone. “This is unacceptable. I will have another team here immediately and we will track down Master Sergeant Jesse Manes.” 

“No. I don’t want another team of airmen I don’t know or trust. You trusted these men, and they were in league with my father. Go ahead, call the base, but only so they can secure this as a crime scene and take the bodies to the morgue.” Alex motioned to the sniper and Naomi. “I will however, request them for the rescue mission.”

The General looked around the room at the Antarians and then back to Alex. “Fine. I’ll oversee the investigation here. If you need anything, I’ll make sure you get it.”

“Just have Clay brought here, please. I think his plane is due to land soon.” Alex tried to stand, but the room started to spin again. This time everything went dark.

Alex woke to find Kyle standing over him, shining a very bright light in his eyes. “You really need to stop doing that. You’re giving me an ulcer.”

“Alex, I know you don’t want us to tamper with the bond, but we need to dampen it a bit. It’s hurting you like this.” Elara spoke gently, the sadness in her eyes clear.

“Please don’t remove it...I-I know he didn’t know what he was doing, but...” Alex wasn’t sure what he was trying to say. 

Elara stroked his hair. “We would never do such a thing. It’s true that Michael had no idea that he bonded to you, but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong that he did. I told you I’d help you complete it when we get him back and I give you my word we will only dampen its effects so you can function until we find him.”

Alex nodded. “Okay. If it can help me focus, but if we’ve been bonded for over ten years why is it affecting me like this now?”

One of the healers sat down next to Alex when Elara beckoned him over. He took Alex’s hand and closed his eyes. After a few moments, he opened his eyes. “The handprint is amplifying your bond and you’re reacting to his pain. Nothing like this has happened before?”

“No. Usually, it’s me that was getting hurt.” Alex noticed his confused expression and tried to explain. “Between my father and being in the Air Force, I was hurt a lot. Wait, do you think Michael experienced the pain when I lost my leg?”

The healer looked to Elara to answer the question. Elara sighed. “Probably. But it’s all in the past now. Sasha has dulled the bond. You will still feel Michael but you’ll stop blacking out.”

Max opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by a commotion outside the door. Everyone was moving at once, the Antarian guards standing in front of Elara and Aria to protect them. 

Alex stood but was blocked by Greg’s gun raised at the door. “Don’t move. We’ve got this.” Alex noticed everyone with a weapon was standing protectively in front of the civilians. He scowled and held out his hand to Kyle. “My gun, please.”

Kyle handed it over easily. “Take it. You know I hate guns.”

They all waited to see what was going on when a furious voice rang out. “If you don’t let me in I’m going to shoot you. And since I out rank you, I’ll probably get away with it!”

Alex rolled his eyes and lowered his weapon. He gestured to Greg, who was closer to the door. “Let our big brother in before he shoots someone. I have enough paperwork already.”

Greg opened the door and pulled Clay into a hug. “Thank God you’re safe.”

Clay slumped against Greg and let his brother hug him. 

“Daddy!” Aria let go of her grandmother and ran to her father.

Clay pulled away from Greg and scooped his daughter into his arms. “My little star, I missed you so much!”

Aria cried into her father’s neck. “Grandpa took Mommy. I went to the secret place and waited, but she never came back. I fell asleep Daddy, I’m sorry. I took too long to call Uncle Alex. It’s my fault they can’t find Mommy. I waited too long. I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

“Ssssh, little one. You were brave, and you did exactly what you were supposed to do. It’s okay. Nobody’s mad at you.” Clay rubbed Aria’s back, eyes searching the room for Alex.

Alex made his way across the room to his brother. “I’m sorry we haven’t found her yet.”

“What’s going on here? Why does it look like a war zone out there?” Clay asked.

“Dad happened. It’s a long story, but the Air Force thought it would be a good idea to use Aria as bait. It backfired on them since I had her secured in a safe room but Dad took Michael Guerin.” Alex gave Clay the cliff notes version of what happened. 

“Michael? The kid from high school? Why would Dad take him?”

“Because he’s an alien and my boyfriend.” Alex answered.

Clay let out a soft sob. “Oh, Alex, did I do this? Did Dad find out about him because of Aria?”

Alex shook his head. “No. He’s known about Michael for years. Dad saw an opportunity and took it. I’m guessing he plans to use Michael to get me to do whatever he wants. Come sit down. We need to figure this whole thing out.”

Clay looked away from Alex and finally noticed his mother-in-law standing next to her mother. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Elara...I...I’m so sorry...”

Elara frowned at him. “Sorry? You didn’t do this. I thought you’d realize by now that I do not hold anyone responsible for the sins of their fathers. Come and sit. We will find them.”

Alex followed his brother to the couch and sat down. Clay looked around the room and back at Alex. “Are all these people here to help find my wife?”

“They are. Introductions are probably in order. Though, you may recognize some of them.” Alex gestured around the room. “Max and Isobel Evans, Michael’s siblings. You remember Kyle. Liz and Rosa Ortecho.” 

“Rosa? I thought...” Clay’s eyes widened.

“Max decided to play God...it was a mess for a while, but that’s not relevant.” Isobel glared at Max.

“This is Captain Naomi McNally and I’m sorry, I don’t even know your name.” Alex’s eyes stopped on the sniper.

“Airman Danielle Jacobs, sir.”

“I didn’t even ask if you wanted to be assigned to the rescue mission. I understand if you don’t.” Alex watched her straighten, not sure her spine could get any straighter. 

“Sir, I’m not sure why you would want me on your team after I failed, but I will do everything I can to fix my mistake.”

“At ease, Jacobs. You didn’t fail. You acted with courage in the face of treason. You made the tough choice to go against orders and do the right thing. You adapted quickly, and that’s exactly the type of person I want on this team. My father is ruthless but he can be persuasive and I need someone I know won’t be swayed to his side. You fought for my family because it was the right thing to do, not because you were following orders.” Alex watched her shoulders relax slightly and smiled when she nodded.

Elara gestured to the Antarians. “You know everyone, Clay, but I will make the introductions for the rest of you. My daughter, Kamaria. Sasha, Roma, Orin and Aylin our healers. Magdalen, Rhea, Vida and Sage my private guards. We will work together to find my granddaughter and my brother.”

“Brother?” Max and Isobel said in unison.

“Yes, my brother. I know you have so many questions and I will answer them all, but time is of the essence. Kitara needs the healers, her time is drawing near.” Elara responded.

Clay placed his hand on his heart and closed his eyes. “I can’t feel her anymore. I don’t know if she’s hurt or...or...”

Elara placed her hand over his and concentrated. The sadness was clear in her honey colored eyes when she opened them. “It’s the pollen. It weakens even the strongest bond. She is alive, but I can’t tell any more than that.”

“If the pollen weakens the bond, then why wasn’t my bond affected?” Alex placed his hand over Michael’s handprint and felt a sudden stab of pain.

“Because I shot him full of antidote before your father broke down the door. I think he still had his powers even after they threw the pollen at him.” Isobel answered.

“So, he might be letting my father hurt him? Why would he do that? Why wouldn’t he just escape?” Alex’s heart started to race again. 

Greg swore under his breath. “Because our father probably threatened you. Michael thinks Max and Isobel are dead. If he thinks you’re all he has left, he will do anything to protect you.”

Alex held his head in his hands for a moment before looking up. “Can we use the handprint to find him? I mean if we can feel each other can we, I don’t know, send thoughts?”

“You can try but it takes practice to communicate beyond feelings, especially with an incomplete soul bond. It would work easier if Michael pushed his location to you.” Elara said.

“I have to try.” Alex closed his eyes and hoped he could figure this bond thing out before Michael or Kitara got hurt.

@@@

Michael blinked against the light overhead. Groaning, he tried to sit up but the room started to spin and he closed his eyes again. Everything hurt. It probably hadn’t been smart to taunt Jesse Manes with his relationship with Alex, but when had he ever been smart when it came to Alex? He waited a few minutes and tried to open his eyes again. He rolled to the side and spit blood out of his mouth before looking around. He was in a cell. When he tried to sit up again he heard metal clang against the concrete floor and saw they chained his leg to the wall. “Great, just great.” He muttered to himself, pulling to see how strong it was.

“It’s not going to break. But it’s long enough that you can walk around.” A soft voice spoke from the corner of the cell.

Michael turned and tried to focus. “Where am I?”

“I’m not sure. How are you feeling?”

Groaning, Michael pushed himself to his feet. “Like I’ve been tortured.”

“I’m sorry you’re hurt.”

“Yeah, me too.” Michael made his way towards the voice and noticed a very pregnant woman curled up in the corner. He gestured to the space next to her. “Can I sit?”

“Of course.” 

Michael slid to the ground and flashed her a smile. “So, you’re Kitara Manes.”

“You know who I am?”

“Of course I do darling, I also know what you are.” Michael realized too late how ominous that sounded when Kitara started to cry. “Shit. Hey, hey...I’m not going to hurt you. I’m like you too.”

Kitara looked at him through her tears. “You are?”

Michael nodded. “You can’t feel it? I felt Aria as soon as we pulled up to your house.”

“You came for Aria? She isn’t here, is she? Please tell me she’s safe.”

“She is safe. I promise. Alex will protect her. But seriously, did Jesse do something to you?” Michael persisted. 

“He covered me in pollen. I must have inhaled some because even though they changed my clothes, I still can’t access my powers. It’s actually very scary, I’ve never felt so cold in my life.” Kitara admitted.

Michael put his arm around her and pulled her to him. “I know the feeling. But don’t worry, I’m going to get you out of here soon.”

“How? You’re covered in pollen too.” Kitara pointed out.

“Crap! I’m sorry, I’m getting it all over you.” Michael pulled his arm away from her, but she grabbed it.

“Please don’t move away...I’ve already inhaled it like I said, my powers aren’t coming back for a while.” Kitara spoke softly, wiping the tears from her face.

Michael opened his mouth to tell her about the antidote running through his veins, but footsteps approaching stopped him. He pulled Kitara closer, “It’s going to be okay.”

“Isn’t this sweet? What would Clay say if he saw you in the arms of another man?”

“Flint. I should have known you’d be right by your father’s side. A true Manes man, huh?” Michael sneered.

“Shut up, Guerin! You have no right to criticize me!” Flint shouted.

“Why should I? You going to make me? You going to come in here and beat me up again? Torture me? Kill me? Kill my family, oh wait, your father already did that! C’mon, be a Manes man and finish the job. Kill me and then Alex can stay safe and sound in Roswell. You know you want to.” Michael taunted.

Flint laughed. “That little tirade would be impressive except for one little detail. Her. Even if I killed you, Alex and Clay would still come for her. So why don’t you shut your damn mouth and play nice? If you cooperate maybe we’ll let her go after she gives us the baby.”

Kitara stood and lunged toward Flint but the chain stopped her from getting close enough to hurt him. “You will never get your hands on my child! I will kill you before you touch her.”

Jesse appeared behind Flint and chuckled. “She threatened me with the same thing. Too bad it will never happen. I’m going out for a while. I’m sure by now Alex is working on a way to track me, so I’m going to lead him away from here. Don’t forget to feed her. We need to keep her healthy.”

“What about Guerin?” Flint asked.

Jesse shrugged. “Do whatever you want. I’m going to destroy him and make Alex watch.” 

Flint waited until he heard his father’s car pull away before turning back to the cell. “What do you want to eat? I’m not a very good cook but I can make mac and cheese or grilled cheese or...”

“Go to hell, Flint. I’m not eating anything you touch.” Kitara spit in his direction before turning back to Michael.

Flint let out a pained laugh. “Don’t worry, Kitara, I’m already there.”

Kitara glared at him. “Yeah? You’re in hell? That’s rich coming from the person not chained to a wall. Is babysitting us cutting into a hot date?” 

If Michael hadn’t been watching Flint to make sure he didn’t hurt Kitara for her taunting, he would have missed the slight flinch when he mentioned a hot date. Interesting. Michael pushed to see if he could get information from Flint he could exploit. “That’s it isn’t it? You’ve got some girl waiting for you, but daddy dearest is making you play warden to some filthy aliens. So, what? Are you going to cook us some comfort food your mommy used to make and maybe slip some sleeping pills inside so you can slip out and get laid before daddy finds out?”

“Shut up, Guerin! Just shut up! You think you always know what you’re talking about, but you never do. For once just shut that goddamn mouth and fuck...just shut up...” Flint started out yelling but by the end of his tirade he was shaking and his eyes were watering. 

Michael opened his mouth to push more, but Kitara put her hand on his arm and shook her head. She moved closer to the bars and studied Flint. “You’re upset, but not because of what Michael said.”

Flint took a few steps back, almost as if he was afraid Kitara would reach out and touch him. “Don’t try to use any of your powers on me.”

“I’m powerless right now, your father saw to that.” Kitara reminded him.

Flint turned to walk up the stairs. He paused and looked back at them. “I’ll bring you something packaged so you know I didn’t put anything in it. I’m sorry he hurt you.”

Kitara and Michael watched him walk up the stairs and disappear out of sight. Michael tugged on Kitara’s chain to get her to sit next to him on the small cot. “What the fuck just happened?”

“I’m not exactly sure but I don’t think Flint wants to be here and not because of some girl, but because he genuinely is sorry about what Jesse did.”

Michael scoffed. “Yeah, right. You don’t know Flint like I do. He was a jerk growing up, true it was more typical older brother stuff but he has the capacity to be just like his father.”

“Are you sure? That’s not the vibe I just got from him. Something’s wrong and we just might be able to bring him over to our side.” Kitara rubbed her arms.

Michael put his arm around her again. “You’re still cold. Look, we need to forget about Flint and get out of here.”

Kitara lifted her chain. “And exactly how are we supposed to do that?”

Michael lifted his hand, flicked his wrist, and the chains fell to the floor. He concentrated on the door to the cell and the lock clicked. “We get up and walk out of here. There’s a door over in the corner. While you were trying to play amateur psychiatrist, I realized where we are. This is the Manes’ family home. The bastard has us locked up in his basement.”

“How do you still have your powers?”

“My sister shot me full of antidote before Jesse broke in and killed her. The pollen only worked for a few minutes, but I heard him talking before getting in the SUV and realized he was bringing me to where he had you. So, I didn’t use them.” Michael explained, pulling her to her feet. “Come on, we need to go. I’ll explain everything once we get out of here.”

Kitara let herself be led out of the cell towards the cellar door. They opened the door to find Flint standing there. Michael pushed Kitara behind him. “Get out of our way, Flint. I don’t want to have to kill you. Alex still loves you, though I have no idea why.”

Flint lowered his eyes and swallowed. “He shouldn’t. I’m a monster. I can’t let you go. I want to but I can’t.”

“Yes, you can. Prove to your brothers you aren’t a monster. Come with us.” Kitara pleaded.

Flint shook his head and looked up to meet her gaze. “I can’t. If he gets back and finds you gone he’ll kill her. And I can’t let that happen. I won’t let him hurt you anymore, but I can’t let you go.”

“Kill who?” Kitara asked.

“Enough of this bullshit. He’s lying, Kitara, Jesse isn’t going to kill anyone except us if we don’t get out of here. Seriously, get out of our way. I said I don’t want to kill you, but I will if you don’t let us leave.” Michael pushed Kitara out the door. 

“He’s not lying, Michael. He truly believes Jesse will kill someone if we leave.” Kitara pulled Michael back.

Michael ran his hand through his hair, terrified they wouldn’t get away before Jesse got back. “And how do you know that?” 

“Because I can feel it. My powers are coming back. We need to at least listen to him. Maybe we can help.”

“Help, Flint? The man who just told you he might let you go if you gave up your baby to his psychopath father? Are you insane?” Michael tried pulling her past Flint, but she held firm.

“Jesus Christ! Fine. I’ll listen, but if you get us killed, I’m not taking the blame with Alex. This is all on you.” Michael folded his arms across his chest and stared at Flint.

“Who is he going to kill if you let us go?” Kitara asked gently. 

Flint let out a long breath and Michael felt his chest tighten. Alex did that when he was trying to calm himself. Was that something they learned from their mother or was it something just ingrained in their DNA?

“My daughter.”

Michael blinked a few times. “Your daughter? What, do all you Manes brothers have secret kids? Is Greg hiding a kid on the reservation too?” 

Flint frowned. “Not that I know of. Look, I’ll tell you everything, but can we please go back inside?”

Kitara nodded and pulled Michael back into the cellar. Flint followed and closed the door. He didn’t lock it, probably because he realized Michael would just open it again if he did.

Michael pulled an old chair over with his mind and motioned for Kitara to sit. He turned to Flint. “Start talking.”

“You remember Amanda Monroe, don’t you?” Flint began. 

“Yeah, pretty blond in your grade, was nice to everyone, even me. She died a few years back, right? Why are you bringing her up?” Michael asked, confused. 

“Because she got pregnant the summer after we graduated.” Flint waited for Michael to connect the dots. 

“The baby was yours.” Michael said flatly.

“Yeah. I wanted to marry her, live on the reservation with my mother’s family, but Dad flipped out. Told me in no uncertain terms that I was enlisting and he would decide when and whom I married. Amanda’s parents didn’t want her to get married either, but they were willing to let her keep the baby and for a while that was enough. I got to see them both when I was on leave and we wrote letters...we were going to get married when my enlistment was up. But that never happened.” Flint stopped talking and looked between Michael and Kitara. Kitara looked sympathetic, but Michael just looked bored. 

He gestured impatiently to Flint. “Go on, I still don’t get where this is going.”

“My father requested me to come work on a project with him. My enlistment was extended without my knowledge and they forced me to work for him...at Caulfield.” Flint waited for Michael to lose his temper and he wasn’t disappointed. 

Michael lunged forward and grabbed Flint by his collar. “What did you do? What did you do to them? That’s it. I’m done listening to you. We’re leaving, Kitara. Let him get himself out of this.”

“Michael, wait! What is Caulfield? Why are you so angry?” Kitara refused to follow Michael.

“An alien prison. The aliens that didn’t die in the Roswell crash were captured and experimented on in Caulfield. For seventy years! My mother was there. She’s dead now, no thanks to Flint and Jesse Manes. I hope you rot in hell, Flint.” Michael grabbed Kitara’s hand to drag her towards the door. 

“There were survivors of the crash? You’re a survivor of the crash? But-but they told my grandmother everyone perished.” Tears slid down Kitara’s cheeks. 

“We need to get out of here now. I’ll explain everything when we get to Alex. He’s waiting at the base for someone named Elara?”

“My grandmother is coming here? Are you sure?”

“Kitara, please! You don’t know what Jesse is capable of! He killed Isobel and Max! He tortured my mother and apparently recruited his son to help.” Michael tugged on Kitara’s hand to get her moving.

Kitara nodded and allowed Michael to pull her across the basement.

They made it to the door before Flint spoke again. “I refused to hurt your mother or any of the others. I wouldn’t let the other guards hurt her either. I thought he’d just beat the shit out of me like he did when I was a kid. But he didn’t...he didn’t...he killed Amanda instead. The police said it was an accident, but he bragged about it. And everyday since she died he’s sent me a picture of my little girl. A picture of her at school, at the mall, in her bedroom, five years worth of pictures to remind me he can get to her before I can. If it was just me, I’d let you walk out of here no problem. I’m willing to die. I’m worthless and I don’t deserve to live, but my little girl is innocent. I don’t want her to die...”

Micheal reached his hands to his neck and pulled at his curls. “Fuckin’ hell. I should have killed him in the shed.”

“You really think he’ll kill his own grandchild?” Kitara questioned.

Flint let out a hysterical laugh. “Uh...he’s planning to experiment on your baby...who is also his grandchild. So yeah, I think he’d kill her without a second thought.”

“Okay, okay, where is your daughter now?” Michael asked.

“With her grandparents in Texas.” 

“Call them and tell them to leave, go somewhere, anywhere and we’ll leave together. Alex can send someone...” Michael started but was interrupted by Flint shaking his head. 

“My phone is bugged and he got rid of the landline years ago. He doesn’t trust me. He knows I’m only doing what he tells me because of my daughter.”

“Go next door and ask to use your neighbor’s phone.” Michael pointed to the house next door, his panic growing with each moment they stayed in the basement. 

“Someone is taking those pictures, Michael. Someone who knows my daughter’s every move. I can’t risk it.” Flint protested.

“So what the hell are we supposed to do? Sit here and wait for him to come back?” Michael yelled. 

“I don’t know! I don’t know!” Flint screamed back.

“Why haven’t you used your bond to let your bond mate know where you are?” Kitara questioned. 

“My what?” Michael stared at her. 

“Your bond mate or if you prefer soul mate.” Kitara explained. 

“I’m not bonded.” Michael protested.

“Yes, you are. I can see the bond. It’s incomplete, but you should still be able to send a message.” She studied Michael’s confused expression and shook her head. “You really didn’t know you were bonded, did you?”

Michael suddenly realized what Kitara was talking about. “You mean the handprint I left on Alex? But how do you know I did that?”

“You marked your bond mate without completing the bond? Are you crazy?” Kitara closed her eyes and shook her head again. “Whatever, we’ll deal with that later, but for now contact Alex. Tell him where we are. And...uh...hurry...because my water just broke.”


	6. Chapter 6

Flint and Michael exchanged a look. Flint spoke first. “You can’t have that baby now. You have to stop doing whatever it is you’re doing.”

“And just how do you expect me to stop my labor? Michael, please, just use your bond to tell Alex where we are.” Kitara winced in pain.

“I don’t know how.” Michael admitted.

Kitara doubled over and started panting. “Just think really hard and push an image to him. Oh my god, I think something’s wrong. The pain...”

Michael guided her back to the chair. “Is it a different pain than the last time?”

Kitara looked up at him, panic evident in her eyes. “I had no pain with Aria. I had healers with me. Please try to contact Alex, I’m scared.”

“I’ll go next door and call.” Flint moved to go outside but stopped short. “Michael, we have a problem.”

Michael looked up and swore under his breath. Jesse Manes stood in front of Flint with a gun pointed to his head. 

“Looks like I can’t trust any of my sons. Turn around and put them back in the cell.” Jesse shoved Flint.

“I’m not helping you anymore.” Flint stood his ground.

Jesse shoved Flint again. “Aren’t you supposed to see Hailey next month? Would be a pity if something happened.”

“Oh, no. You aren’t doing this.” Michael flicked his hand, and the gun went flying across the room. 

Jesse lunged forward to tackle his son, but Michael used his telekinesis to push him against the wall. He walked over slowly, smirking when Jesse’s hands went to his throat. He gasped, clawing at the unseen force crushing his throat. 

Michael stood in front of Jesse. “How does it feel to be powerless while someone stronger chokes the life out of you?”

“Michael, stop! I know you want to, but you can’t kill him.” Flint said.

“After all he’s done he deserves this. Give me one good reason I shouldn’t crush his windpipe like he tried to do to Alex ten years ago.” Michael hissed. 

“You’re not a killer.” Flint answered.

Michael glanced at him. “You don’t know that.”

“Yes, I do. Alex would never love you if you were. You’re a good man.” Flint insisted, putting a hand on Michael’s shoulder.

Michael was crying now. “He hurt so many people, killed so many people...he killed my mother... Max and Isobel...your girlfriend...”

“And killing him won’t bring them back.” Flint whispered.

Michael let go, and Jesse slid to the floor clutching his throat. “Flint, you see what they really are. Killers, they’re all killers!”

“Don’t you talk to me about killers! You killed Amanda and you threaten to kill Hailey almost every day. You—“ Flint was cut off by Kitara’s cries.

Michael rushed to her side. “She needs some kind of medical help. You gotta call Alex.”

Flint reached into his pocket for his phone. Jesse grinned at him. “I wouldn’t make that call if I were you. Wouldn’t want my colleagues to find out, do you?”

Flint hesitated. “What did you do, Dad?”

Jesse just laughed. 

Michael tossed Jesse against the wall and knocked him out. “He’s trying to get in your head. Call Alex.”

“What if I call and something happens to my daughter? I can’t take that risk. Let’s get her in the car...” Flint moved toward Kitara.

“There’s no time. She’s coming now!” Kitara sobbed, clutching Michael’s arm.

“Shit, shit..what are we going to do?” Flint looked between Michael and the unconscious form of his father. 

“First, we get him in that cell and lock it. And then I guess we figure out real quick how to deliver a baby.” Michael tried to sound calm, but he was freaking out inside. All he wanted was Alex. He knew that Alex could fix all this. He could help Kitara and figure out what to do with Jesse and make sure Flint’s daughter was safe. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, wishing the entire time that Alex was right by his side. 

@@@

Alex jumped up from his couch, clutching his chest. “I know where they are. We have to go now.”

@@@

Michael helped Flint get Jesse into the cell. They put the chain around his ankle and locked the door. Flint took a deep breath and looked at Kitara. “How are we supposed to deliver an alien baby?”

Kitara’s head snapped up at Flint’s whispered question. “This isn’t like Men in Black, you dumbass! She doesn’t have tentacles and she won’t spit slime at you, she’s exactly like a human baby. And I don’t want you delivering her. I don’t want my brother-in-law anywhere near me when I’m half naked!”

Michael let out a surprised laugh. “Wow, she’s feisty when she’s mad. I like her.”

Flint glared at him before turning to Kitara. “You’d rather your uncle see you half naked?” 

“What?!” Both Kitara and Michael yelled at the same time.

Flint winced. “Um...nothing? I’ll go next door and call Alex now...”

Michael grabbed Flint. “Give me your phone and find something more comfortable than that old chair.”

Flint handed over his phone and watched while Michael pulled up YouTube. “Seriously? You think there’s a YouTube video on delivering a baby?”

Michael barely glanced at him. “There’s a YouTube video for everything.”

“Just cut it out of her. We don’t need her alive, just the baby.” Jesse called out. 

“Shut up!” Flint yelled at his father. 

Michael floated an old rag into the cell and shoved it in Jesse’s mouth. “Ignore him. The video says we need to get her comfortable. And we need clean towels or sheets or something. And we really need to wash our hands.”

“There’s a sink by the washer and there should be towels in the dryer. Are we really doing this?” Flint felt the panic slide away now that he had specific tasks to complete. 

“Yes. I’m not letting anything happen to any more of my family.” Michael went to grab the towels from the dryer and washed his hands. “Kitara, with Aria how did you do this?”

Kitara gripped the side of the chair and let out a whine. “I was with the healers. They took care of everything, I don’t remember...I really want my mother and Clay. I don’t know if I can do this without them.”

Michael put his arms around her. “You can. I know this isn’t how you wanted this to go but we’re not going to let anything happen to you.”

“I don’t want to do this with him watching.” Kitara whimpered, inclining her head toward Jesse.

Flint tested the door to the cell again. “We’ll go upstairs. He’s not going anywhere.”

Michael scooped Kitara up and followed Flint up the stairs into the living room. He set Kitara on the couch. “Okay, you ready to do this?”

“No...but it’s not like I have a choice.” Kitara wiped a tear from her cheek.

“Flint, let her lean on you. I’ll hold her up with my powers. Supposedly, gravity will take care of the rest.” Michael took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I know you kinda don’t want either of us...uh...looking but...”

Kitara let out another whimper. “It hurts...”

Michael knelt in front of her and rested his hands on her knees just below the hem of her dress. “It’s all going to be over soon. You’re going to be okay, just try to breathe...”

“Uh...Michael...your hands...” Flint couldn’t seem to form a sentence.

Michael looked down at his hands on Kitara’s knees, they were glowing. “Holy hell...” 

He went to pull them back but Kitara stopped him. “Don’t you dare! The pain is gone.”

“But how am I supposed to do anything like this?” Michael kept his glowing hands firmly in place. 

Flint moved from behind her and pushed Michael over. “I’ve got this. I think it’s time we met our niece.”

Micheal gave him a questioning look but shifted to make room for Flint. 

The front door burst open ten minutes later, Alex and Captain McNally stood in the doorway with their guns drawn, assessing the situation in front of them. Alex recovered first and lowered his weapon. Flint and Michael barely noticed when Alex called out an all clear. They were too busy staring in awe at the baby sleeping on Kitara’s chest.

Chaos ensued, everyone trying to talk at once. Clay pushed past everyone and ran to his wife. “I’m so sorry, kitten.” He noticed his daughter on her chest and he reached out a shaking hand to touch her. “Oh...oh...she’s so tiny.”

Kitara let out a tearful laugh. “Well, that’s what happens when you give birth three weeks early, the baby tends to be tiny.” She reached up and cupped her husband’s face. “Don’t cry my love, I’m okay. We’re okay.”

Clay threw his arms around his wife and let out a sob. “I thought I was going to lose you both. I thought he was going to kill you.”

Alex took in the scene in front of him, trying unsuccessfully to calm his erratic heartbeat. He waited for Michael to look up before he moved towards him. Michael gave Kitara and Clay a quick glance before he stood and met Alex halfway. He let out a deep breath and pulled Alex into a crushing hug. Alex melted into his embrace and felt tears sliding down his cheeks. 

Micheal pulled him closer and whispered in his ear. “Baby, it’s okay. Everything is fine.”

“I saw you on that video with all those guns pointed at you, and I lost it. I almost smashed my computer against the wall. When I saw Max and Isobel on the ground, I thought he was going to kill you.” Alex buried his face in Michael’s neck.

“Oh God...Max...Isobel...he just shot them...Alex...my family...” Michael started to shake, the events of the last few hours finally catching up to him. 

Max and Isobel pushed past the Antarians crowding the Manes living room and threw their arms around Alex and Michael. Michael was glad so many people were holding onto him because he felt his knees give out when Isobel kissed his cheek. “It’s going to take more than a bullet to keep us apart. Thank God you’re safe.”

Michael just shook his head. “How?”

”We had a little help from a few people who can heal better than I can.” Max hugged him tighter.

Isobel wiped her eyes and pulled back from Michael. “I think you need to meet someone...”

Max pulled away and let Michael turn to the doorway. Alex wrapped his arm around Michael’s waist and watched the Antarian guards step away. He looked at Michael and knew the moment he saw Elara. Michael’s sharp intake of breath let him know he somehow knew who she was.

“I know...I know you...” He whispered, repeating the words he spoke to his mother when he found her. 

Elara was across the room faster than Alex would have expected an eighty-year-old to move. She pulled Michael into her arms and started to cry. “I never lost hope. They told me you were dead, but there was always a tiny part of me that knew you weren’t.” She let him go and smiled up at him. “Look at you. You’re all grown up. My baby brother is a man...”

“Brother?” Michael looked between Alex and Elara. His brow furrowed and he turned back towards the couch where Flint was trying to make himself invisible. “You knew?”

Flint nodded. “He liked to brag about the lies and deception...I’m sorry, we kinda had bigger things to worry about.”

Alex finally noticed Flint and motioned for the airmen waiting in the front hallway. They moved forward and pulled Flint to his feet. “You’re going to need to come with us.”

“No! Don’t take him away...” Kitara protested.

“Darling, he’s working with my father.” Clay spoke softly, his anger carefully contained.

Kitara shook her head. “No, he isn’t. He helped us. Please, just let him explain.”

“It’s okay, Kitara, I need to answer for what I’ve done.” Flint allowed the airmen to lead him to the door. 

“Michael! Tell them...” Kitara pleaded.

Michael sighed. “Alex, don’t let them arrest him just yet. You were right when you said Jesse probably had something on him. He might not be completely innocent but...well, let’s just say I forgive him for Caulfield.”

Alex motioned for them to stop. “Okay, I’ll hear him out, but first we need to contain all this. Where is my father?”

“In the cell in the basement. Quick question, did you always have a cell in your basement or is that new?” Michael asked. 

Alex raised an eyebrow. “Uh, no, that’s new...”

Clay looked to Alex. “I want to go with you.”

“I think we need to do this together.” Greg said from the doorway.

Alex nodded. “All of us. That means you too, Flint.”

The four brothers descended into the basement and stopped in front of their father. Jesse stared at them and sneered. “Well, it looks like I failed. There are no more Manes men left.”

“Thank God for that.” Greg said, placing a steadying hand on Alex’s shoulder. 

“You’re going away for a long time. Court martial, prison time, and dishonorable discharge. Soon everyone will know what a failure you are.” Alex spat out.

Jesse laughed. “You think anyone will find out what I’ve done? It will be swept so far under the rug that even the people who sanctioned what I did won’t know what happened.”

“You kidnapped my wife! Do you think that’s going to get swept under some rug?” Clay lunged for his father. 

“Your wife isn’t even human.” Jesse countered. “Where did I go wrong that all my sons ended up perverted freaks who let themselves be brainwashed by disgusting murdering aliens?”

“Shut up! Just stop talking! You’re the one who was brainwashed. The Antarians have lived on this planet peacefully for seventy years. There was never going to be a takeover. Grandfather lied to you, just like you lied to us. Alex, I’m done. I never want to see him again.” Clay turned and went upstairs.

“One down, three to go. I wonder which one of you will be left? Well, I don’t really wonder. I know it’s going to be you and me, Flint. After all, you need to know how to prevent another accident. How much time do you think you have left?” Jesse smiled and backed away from the bars.

“Dad, please don’t hurt her. She’s innocent. What do you want from me?” Flint begged.

Jesse just grinned. 

Flint threaded his fingers through his hair and paced in front of the cell while Alex and Greg looked on, completely confused. “Tell me! What do you want?” 

“It’s probably already too late. And even if it wasn’t, Alex will never give in to any of my demands. It’s really too bad, Hailey was actually a sweet kid.” Jesse sat on the cot and closed his eyes.

“Was? No...no...you didn’t have time...you’re lying. You have to be lying.” Flint slid to the floor sobbing, his head in his hands. 

Greg knelt next to him. “Flint, talk to us. What’s going on? Who is Hailey?”

Flint didn’t even look up when he answered. “My daughter. I think he killed my daughter.”

“Jesus christ! How many secret nieces do I have?” Alex muttered before turning to his father. “What did you do?”

Jesse refused to answer. He just kept his eyes closed, a faint smile on his face.

Alex walked to the foot of the stairs and yelled for Michael. When Michael appeared he asked him to bring Elara down. A few minutes later, Michael and Elara stood next to Alex.

“Dad, you have one chance to tell me what you did to Flint’s daughter. And if you lie, I’ll know.” Alex watched his father slowly turn to face them.

“What is it you said to me once? Oh yes, I’m going to destroy what you love and I’m going to make you watch. Sounds like a good plan to me.” 

Alex nodded to Elara and watched his father reach up and grab his head, pain written all over his face. “Stop! Get out of my head, you disgusting creature! You’ll pay for this.”

Elara let out a shout of rage. “You are a vile man. You were blessed with four incredible sons and you have failed them all. You have only hate in your heart. I hope you never see the sun again.” She placed a hand on Flint’s shoulder. “Hailey is fine. His accomplice is just a private investigator tasked with taking pictures of her.”

Flint wiped his face and let Greg help him up. “Are you sure? There’s no one waiting for orders to kill her too?”

“There is no one. I promise you, she is safe. I’m sure Alex will let you go to her or have her brought here. And after what I’ve just seen, I will make sure you will not face any repercussions for the years you spent following your father’s orders.”

“But all the things I’ve done. I’m just like him. I hurt your people. I let him do unspeakable things.” Flint protested.

Elara raised a hand. “Stop, you are not like him. You are a good man. You were protecting your family, and that is something I understand.” She turned her gaze to Alex. “Alex, I know what is in your father’s mind will not be admissible in your courts but he was planning to comment genocide. There is a bomb in yet another facility that is programmed to destroy anyone with Antarian DNA. I have the coordinates and luckily it’s not complete.” 

“Fuckin’ hell, when will this end?” Michael asked, slipping a comforting arm around his sister’s shoulder.

“This is the end. I’m going to demand the General set up a meeting with the Secretary of Defense. I will make sure no one will ever try to harm you or any of your people again.” Alex promised.

Jesse lunged at Alex through the bars. “I should have killed that thing when I had the chance. You dare disgrace the Manes name by promising to protect the murdering scum who killed innocent people, your own family among them! You will be sorry, Alex...you will be sorry for all of this.”

Alex glared at his father. “No, it’s you who will be sorry. You allowed the torture of innocents, kidnapped a pregnant woman, and killed two people in cold blood. I don’t care who sanctioned any of this, you are going to prison.”

They alerted the General that Jesse was in custody and that they needed additional airmen to make sure he didn’t escape while he was being transported to the base. Once they arrived and restrained Jesse before loading him into the back of a military issue SUV, Alex allowed himself to relax and turn his attention to his family. 

“Do I need to call Kyle and ask him to come check out Kitara and the baby?” Alex asked worriedly looking at his brother and wife.

Elara smiled at him. “That won’t be necessary. Aylin has already checked them. It appears that Michael was able to tap into his healing powers and the delivery was swift and painless.”

“You can heal now? How’d you figure that out?” Max asked, obviously impressed.

Michael shrugged. “I wasn’t even trying. No, that’s a lie, I was thinking how I wished I could do more than watch a stupid YouTube video and suddenly my hands were glowing. It was actually a piece of cake after that.”

“You’ll have to teach me. I don’t want to be the only one who can’t heal.” Isobel teased. 

Elara laughed. “I’m surprised that healing isn’t your main power. Your mother was a powerful healer.”

Isobel let out a small gasp. “You knew my mother?” 

“I did. She was my mother’s best friend. I’m sorry she’s gone...that you, Max, and Michael have been alone for so long.” Elara’s expression became pained. “I’m sorry I never demanded more answers.”

Micheal spoke from his spot next to Alex. “No. Nope. No more sorries. No more regrets. I want to look forward, not back. We’ve lost so much time but I’m not wasting another moment.”

“Agreed. I have three nieces and a sister-in-law I never knew existed...there’s been too much hiding and secrecy between all our families. I know most of it isn’t through any fault of our own, but it needs to end. I want to know everything. I want us to be a real family.” Alex held tight to Michael’s hand while he spoke. 

“Well, I think the first thing we need to do is get us all in the same place. I’m sure the others are going to worry until they see we’re all okay.” Isobel said in her no nonsense take charge voice. 

“I’m going to have to go back to the base. There are after action reports that need to be written and we need to secure the facility Elara saw in my father’s head. But you can all go back to my house. I shouldn’t be too long.” Alex started to stand, but Michael refused to let go of his hand. 

“Does all that have to be done tonight?” Michael practically whined.

Alex sighed. “Unfortunately, yes. I want everything done by the book so there is no chance of my father getting out of this.”

Captain McNally stepped forward. “Sir, Jacobs and I can take care of the AAR and we can have the facility secured as well. Why don’t you go home with your family and come to the base in the morning?”

Alex glanced at Jacobs, who nodded her agreement. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. I’m sure.” Captain McNally assured him. 

“I’ll call the General and let him know I’ll be there at 0600 hours tomorrow.” Alex said, reaching for his phone.

Captain McNally shook her head and gave him a small smile. “I’m sure he’ll understand if you make it 0900.” 

Less than a half hour later, everyone was once again crammed into Alex’s living room. Liz, Rosa and Maria were handing out drinks and food Arturo had dropped off for them when Max called to tell them everything was under control and they were coming back to the house. Alex knew they’d have to have a conversation about how everything was going to go from now on, but he really just wanted to drag Michael to his bedroom and sleep. He was exhausted and his head was aching with everything he learned in the past twenty-four hours. 

Elara noticed his discomfort and moved from her spot next to her granddaughter and newest great granddaughter. “You need to rest.”

Alex scoffed. “I’m not quite sure what that means anymore.”

“All your worries will be here in the morning. You need sleep.” Elara insisted.

“I need to find somewhere for all of you to stay, then I need to figure out what I’m going to tell the General tomorrow. I’m just a Captain and I’m not sure it’s going to go over well when I demand a meeting with the Secretary of Defense. I meant what I said, no one is ever keeping anything from you again.” Alex tried to stand, but Michael kept him seated on the couch. 

Elara sighed. “Alex, I’m sure we will all be comfortable here for one night. In the morning, I will request the meeting for you. Everything is going to be okay. Go sleep.”

“Okay, I’ll sleep.” Alex stood and reached for Michael’s hand. “Come with me?”

Michael raised an eyebrow at his sister. “Are you in his head?”

Elara laughed and pushed them towards the bedroom. “No. He’s stronger than most humans, he can block me. He’s just exhausted. Go with him. I’m perfectly capable of handling things.” 

Michael hesitated, not wanting to leave his sister. Elara sensed his reluctance and brushed a curl from his face. “Go. I promise I’ll be here when you wake up.”

“I have so many questions...” 

“And I’ll answer them all but you’re both exhausted.” Elara gently nudged them along.

Alex made it halfway down the hall before stopping. “I have to change the sheets in the guest room for Clay, I want to make sure it’s clean for the baby.”

“Alex! I may be a queen, but I am perfectly capable of changing sheets. Please, go!” Elara physically turned him back towards his room. Michael took over and guided him to the bed, closing the door with his telekinesis.

Michael gently helped Alex undress and remove his prosthetic, swatting Alex’s hands away when he went to massage the stump. “Relax, baby, let me take care of you.”

“We need to talk. I have so much information about your past.” Alex yawned and closed his eyes, letting Michael’s ministrations release some tension he’d been carrying since Aria called.

“Later. Nothing you learned is going to change if you wait to tell me in the morning. I think we both need to sleep before we talk about the heavy stuff.” Michael finished taking care of Alex’s leg and pulled the covers over his shoulder. 

“Please stay.” Alex whispered when it looked like Michael was leaving.

“I’m not going anywhere. I’m just getting undressed.” Minutes later he was slipping behind Alex and pulling him close. He placed a soft, lingering kiss to Alex’s shoulder and smiled at the soft sound that slipped from his lips.

“If you want me to sleep, don’t do that again.” Alex said sleepily. 

Michael chuckled. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”


	7. Chapter 7

Elara made her way back to the living room after changing the sheets in the guest room. She stopped to take in the scene in front of her. Everyone was moving around, following orders from Isobel. She noticed the blood was gone, furniture righted and put back where it belonged, makeshift beds made of blankets and pillows were placed in out of the way places. She smiled at the newest additions to her family. She not only gained a new great granddaughter today, but a whole new branch of family she thought she had lost. 

Roma, her most trusted healer, noticed her in the doorway and walked across the room to her. “Your highness, how are your brother and his mate?”

“They’ll be fine. They just need to rest, it’s been a long day with a lot of revelations.” Elara answered.

“And how are you?” Roma pressed.

“Me? I’m fine. Isobel seems to have taken charge.” Elara tried to change the subject, but Roma gave her a pointed look and she sighed. “You know it’s bad form to read your queen’s emotions.”

“Your emotions are pouring off you in waves, my friend.” Roma replied.

“I’m trying to keep my mind occupied so I don’t have to dwell on the fact that they have lied me to for over seventy years. If I stop and really let it sink in, I may lose control. And that is something no one is going to be prepared for.” Elara leaned against the wall and closed her eyes.

Roma placed a comforting hand on Elara’s arm. “There are still some of us left who are prepared for the wrath of our General’s daughter.”

Elara opened her eyes and gave her a small smile. “I suppose you are right, but that is a problem for tomorrow. Right now I need to get my granddaughter and her family to go to sleep.”

Kitara felt her grandmother call to her with her mind. She touched Clay’s arm to get his attention and nodded toward Elara. He nodded and helped her to her feet. “Come with me, love?”

Clay nodded and followed his wife. 

“My little one, you need to sleep. You need your energy for the next few days. I have no doubt you’ll have to recount what happened to the military many times over.” Elara led them down the hall. “Alex wanted you and Clay to take the guest room.”

“Let me get Aria.” Clay headed back to the living room to retrieve his sleeping daughter from her grandmother’s arms. 

He placed her in the center of the bed before turning to Elara. “We changed the baby’s name and it still follows tradition, so I hope it’ll be okay.”

“You are free to name your child anything you wish. I was honored when you followed tradition with Aria, but you don’t have to do the same again.” Elara took the newborn from Kitara so she could change into the tee shirt and sleeping pants Isobel had taken from Alex’s room for her. 

“But we want to continue the tradition, Gigi. It’s just a slight change. We want to name her Mikayla Alexandra instead of just Kayla. It still incorporates part of Mom’s name...” Kitara hesitated when she saw the tears forming in her grandmother’s eyes. 

“I’m sure it will honor them to have a tiny namesake. You are such a thoughtful child...both of you are.” She handed Mikayla back to her mother and kissed both her and Clay before leaving them to rest. 

@@@

Elara found Isobel in Alex’s kitchen cleaning the counters and putting away the dishes from the dishwasher. She waited for Isobel to notice she was there before sitting down and gesturing for her to sit. “You are a natural leader, your mother would be proud.”

Isobel looked out into the living room at her friends and family settling down for the night and shrugged. “It’s always been something I excel at. Not that being an obsessive planner, as my brothers like to call me, is always a good thing. I tend to rub people the wrong way because I like order. Chaos is more Michael’s thing.”

“And yet you have seen to all their comforts and organized a very chaotic situation tonight. I think you underestimate yourself.” 

“I don’t really have a lot of faith in myself at the moment. I have a lot of issues because of a...situation I found myself in last year.” Isobel poured two cups of coffee and offered one to Elara.

She took a sip and regarded Isobel for a moment before setting the cup back down. “You blame yourself for what happened? Why?”

“Because I should have known better. I should have been able to...to...” Isobel fumbled for what to say without explaining what Noah had done to her.

Sensing her unease, Elara took her hand. “You were a child when Noah manipulated you. Even if you had been raised among us, you might not have known what was happening.”

“Did you know about Noah just by talking to me? Is it that easy for you to see? What do the others think of me?” Isobel fidgeted in her seat, suddenly extremely self conscious. She looked out into the living room and caught Greg watching her with a confused expression. He made his way to her and sat down next to her, shooting a questioning look at Elara.

“It truly amazes me you and your brothers are related to Jesse Manes. You are all so kind and so very attuned to your mate’s needs. It’s remarkable. I wonder if there had been another female survivor if Flint would have bonded with one of us as well.” Elara mused.

Isobel blushed, Noah momentarily forgotten. “We’re not bonded.”

“Maybe not now but you will be.” Elara predicted. “And to answer your earlier question, I know about Noah because of Alex. After he watched Michael be led away, he opened his mind to me in a good faith gesture before asking for my help. I’m sorry that I saw some things that may not have been Alex’s to share, but he was desperate to save Michael and Kitara. I’m positive he did not mean to betray your trust.”

“He didn’t. It’s not a secret to anyone here what Noah did. I understand why Alex let you into his memories. But now you know that I’m not like my mother. I’m weak.” Isobel leaned against Greg for comfort.

“You are not weak. Yes, if you had been with us in Libya, Noah would not have been able to do what he did. But only because you would have been surrounded by people stronger and more powerful than Noah was. As I said before, you were a child who had no idea how to protect yourself. Your mother would have protected you and if you were not with her, any other adult would have felt what was happening the moment it started.” Elara insisted.

“How can you be sure?” Isobel asked.

“Would you like me to show you how?” Elara asked.

Isobel nodded.

“Try to enter my mind.” Elara smiled when Isobel gave her an incredulous look. “I’m not going to harm you, just enter my mind.”

Isobel sighed and concentrated on Elara. She barely entered her mind when two guards appeared at Elara’s side. She waved them off and smiled at Isobel. “See. The moment you tried to use your powers, my guards picked up on it. Noah may have been able to deceive you, but we would have known. You are not to blame for what happened to you. And I know Alex has told you that from the moment he found out.”

Isobel let out a wet laugh. “He did, over and over again. He has been nothing but supportive and extremely protective since he found out about us. So has Greg.” Isobel blurted, remembering Greg was holding her. 

Elara smiled and cupped Greg’s cheek. “I know. The four of you are wonderful men. You’re all strong and loving. I’m glad you’re part of our family. I think it’s time for us to rest. Tomorrow there will be questions to answer and plans to be made.”

Isobel stood. “I’ll move some people around so you can have the couch.”

Elara waved her hand. “I can sleep on one of the little nest areas you made.” 

“You are not sleeping on the floor at your age...” Isobel’s hand flew to her mouth. “I’m so sorry! I truly have better manners!”

“It’s okay, I know you didn’t mean to be rude. I think this is something I need to explain. We age differently than humans. Yes, I’m eighty three but my body is equivalent to that of a fifty year old human...give or take a few years.” Elara explained.

“But I saw pictures of my mother before she died and she looked older than the seventy years we thought her to be.” Isobel frowned in confusion.

“I can’t be sure, but that might have been because she was separated from us and she had been through a lot of trauma. I’m not really sure. I only got glimpses in Alex’s memories, probably only the things you told him. But trust me, once you reach thirty your body doesn’t show its age like humans. Why don’t you go rest with Greg. I’ll sleep with my healers over by the fireplace. We’ll all be fine. And we will talk more in the morning.” Elara kissed them both on the cheek and walked toward her healers before they could protest anymore. 

Isobel leaned back on Greg. “Is it bad that after all the horrible things that happened since Alex got that call, that I’m actually happy?”

“No, it’s not. I understand what you mean. You’ve finally found your family. You’ll finally be able to get the answers you’ve been looking for all your life. C’mon, let’s get some rest.” Greg pulled her to her feet and led her to the over sized chair where Flint sat staring at his phone. “Scoot over.”

Flint stood up. “Oh, sorry. I’ll go check the locks or something. You and Isobel take the chair.”

“Sit. We’ve shared smaller spaces growing up.” Greg pulled Isobel on his lap and gestured to the space next to him. 

Flint hesitated until Isobel rolled her eyes. “If Michael says he forgives you, so do I. Sit.”

“Thanks.” Flint squished into the space next to Greg and resumed staring at his phone. 

Greg rubbed Isobel’s back until she fell asleep. He glanced over to Flint and noticed the tears gathering in his eyes. “Hey, are you okay?”

“I’m not sure. I want to believe this is over, but I’ve been living under his control for so long that I can’t even imagine being free.” Flint continued to stare at his phone while he talked.  
Greg leaned over to see what Flint was looking at. “Is that Hailey?”

Flint turned the phone. “Yeah, her birthday was last week. She just turned 12.”

“She’s beautiful. She looks like you.” Greg smiled at the picture.

“Thank you, but honestly she looks a lot like her mother with a little bit of Alex thrown in...” Flint ran his finger over Hailey’s picture.

“You know it’s not Alex she looks like...it’s Mom. She has Mom’s eyes, which in case you haven’t noticed so do you.” Greg pointed out. 

“I missed another birthday.” Flint said instead of commenting on Greg’s observation.

“It’s not your fault. I’m sure she understands.” Greg assured him.

“She doesn’t know why she can’t live with me. I’ve wanted to tell her the truth for so long, but I’m not sure she’s old enough yet. I mean, how can you tell your daughter that her grandfather killed her mother? She’ll never forgive me.” Flint tucked the phone in his pocket and looked away. 

“You don’t know that. Michael forgave you.” Greg pointed out. 

“Michael is an adult who’s been at the receiving end of Dad’s fuckary. Hailey is a little girl who still has nightmares about her mother’s death. I screwed up, Greg. I should have known he’d hurt them. I should have realized he was crazy after he smashed Michael’s hand with a hammer.” Flint leaned his head back.

“And I should have been a better brother to both of you. I should have stood up to Dad. I should have protected you.” Greg shot back.

Isobel shifted in Greg’s lap and groaned. “And I should have fried his brain all those times I had to work with him for the Veteran’s stuff. We all have regrets, but we need to stop beating ourselves up. You heard Elara before, I was a child when Noah violated my mind. Well, you were kids when Jesse violated yours because that’s exactly what he did. He violated all of you. He hurt people we all loved. I don’t know how, but we need to move past it. Maybe Elara and her healers can help us. Right now though, I want to sleep before I have to get up and play hostess again because if we let Alex do it we won’t get that delicious coffee he hides from everyone but Michael.”

Flint snorted and bumped Greg’s shoulder. “Man, she is sassy when she’s tired.”

Greg laughed softly. “You have no idea.”

Isobel made an offended noise before drifting back to sleep. Greg kissed the top of her head and closed his eyes. 

@@@

Alex woke with a start, forgetting for a moment the events of the previous twenty four hours. The clock next to his bed told him it was four in the morning. Knowing he wasn’t going to fall back to sleep anytime soon, he carefully untangled himself from Michael’s arms and sat on the edge of the bed. Normally when he woke in the middle of the night like this, he would watch tv until either Michael came to find him or the sun came up. Usually, Michael coaxed him back to bed with promises of soft kisses and cuddles. Tonight was different though, his house was filled with his and Michael’s families. Sighing, he grabbed his crutch and quietly left the room, intending to sit outside until Michael came to find him. 

Once outside he curled up on the large chaise lounges Michael insisted they buy so they could lay together and watch the stars. 

“The stars are beautiful out here.”

Alex jumped at the soft voice, turning to see Elara in the doorway. “May I join you?”

“Of course.” Alex sat up to give her room. “I hope I didn’t wake you.”

Elara shrugged. “I don’t sleep well away from home. There are too many voices interrupting my thoughts while I sleep.”

“You can’t turn if off? Is that a family thing or an alien thing?” Alex knew Michael complained he was full of chaos that rarely quieted. He claimed music and wrapping himself around Alex were the only things to bring him any sense of calm.

“It’s more of a soulmate thing. Being without your soulmate creates chaos in our minds and it becomes harder than normal to find the quiet. At home I’m surrounded by my people and it’s easier to manage.” Elara tried to explain. “So, I guess you could say it’s an alien thing. Why do you ask?”

“Michael once told me something very similar and I wondered if it was something unique to him. It doesn’t seem to happen to Isobel and Max.”

“Well, it makes sense that Michael feels the chaos more than Max and Isobel. He’s also an Empath, not that he would know that. So, every emotion around him affects him. Couple that with an incomplete soul bond and well, let’s just say I’m surprised he’s not a complete mess.” Elara tucked her legs under her and leaned into Alex’s side.

“You said you’re without a bond? Is that normal?” Alex felt Elara stiffen. He turned to face her, taking in the sadness in her eyes. “I’m sorry, that’s none of my business.”

Elara managed a small smile. “No, it’s okay. You have questions and I’m happy to give you the answers. I was bonded. He’s gone now.” 

Alex thought she wasn’t going to elaborate when she let out a soft breath. “He was on Michael’s ship. He must’ve have been among those that died in the actual crash because I felt it. I married though, had a wonderful life with a wonderful man, but I never bonded again.”

“I’m sorry.” 

“Oh, Alex, I didn’t tell you that to make you feel bad. I’m not usually so maudlin. Today has been a lot, even for me. But I’ll be okay.” Elara turned to the door. “Michael? Join us?”

Michael made his way across the patio and slid into the space next to Alex. “Did I miss the memo about a late night stargazing party?”

“It’s hardly a party with only two people. I couldn’t sleep and Elara was keeping me company.” Alex reached up to card his fingers through Michael’s curls, smiling when Michael leaned into the touch. 

“I woke from a nightmare and you were gone.” Michael's softly spoken words tore at Alex’s heart.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Elara asked.

“Alex was an old man and I wasn’t. It was terrifying. Is that what’s going to happen? Am I going to watch him get old and die?” Michael's voice cracked.

“No. That won’t happen if you complete your bond.” Elara shifted next to Alex.

“I don’t understand. You age differently than humans. I’m going to get older but Michael won’t.” Alex protested.

“It’s hard to explain because we never had to deal with this on Antar but if we bond to a human they age like we do. Your life span increases as well.” Elara watched Alex’s brow furrow, expecting his next question she spoke again. “Approximately one hundred and fifty human years.”

Michael wasn’t sure he heard correctly. “We live over a hundred years? Seriously?”

“We think so. Few of us have died since we got here so we’re not exactly sure. Is this upsetting to you?” Confusion crossed Elara’s face.

“My brothers...” Alex let his words trail off. 

“Clay is already bonded to Kitara and Greg will bond with Isobel soon, I can feel it.” Elara told him.

“But not Flint or Hailey. They’ll die long before we do, right?” Alex knew that was years away, but he still felt a pang of sadness knowing Flint would die years before the rest of them. 

“Maybe...maybe not. I saw something in his memories I have to share with the council when I get home and if they agree we can mimic the effects of a bond without actually bonding Flint to anyone. And we’ll wait to see if Hailey bonds with one of us before we do anything.”

“What did you see?” Alex eyed her curiously.

“Tripp. Flint found Tripp’s journals and wanted to be like him. Wanted to make Tripp proud. It’s why Amanda was killed. He refused to hurt my people.” 

Alex swallowed and nodded. “We found a journal of Tripp’s too. I think he loved Nora...your mother.”

“I think so too. He saved them. He saved my brother and cousins. Maybe he couldn’t save her, but I know he wanted to. I know you think being a Manes man is something to be ashamed of, it isn’t. Your legacy isn’t the destruction of my race, it is its salvation.”

“How can you say that when my family caused your pain and sadness? Because of my family, you are alone.” Alex pulled out of Michael’s arms.

Elara reached out to touch him, confused by the waves of sadness pouring off of Alex. “But I’m not alone. I have so many of my people surrounding me back in Libya. What’s going on? Why the sudden anguish?”

“Your soulmate died and you never bonded again. You were fourteen. You’ve lived a lifetime without him. The weird mix of despair and love I’ve felt over the years suddenly makes sense. My bond is incomplete, but it’s there. I can feel the pull of Michael’s love even though I didn’t always understand it. I can’t imagine what you felt without your bond...maybe I don’t deserve to have the bond completed.”

“No. You can’t mean that.” Michael protested.

“I do. All I’ve brought you is pain and suffering. I left you here to protect you, so you could do great things. But then I kept coming back. Kept pulling you in, making you love me, only to walk away time and time again. I let my father and the bigots in this town get in my head. You were right when you said we weren’t good for each other. You’re too good for me. I think I need to go.” Alex grabbed his crutch and moved to stand.

Michael let out a soft sob. “Please don’t walk away again.”

Elara blocked Alex’s retreat. “I thought to wait until tomorrow, but I think we need to complete your bond tonight.”

Alex shook his head. “I don’t deserve-“

Elara brought her hand to his cheek. “Yes, you do. You deserve happiness. You deserve to be loved.”

“But your soul mate died.” Alex persisted.

“He died in the crash. He wasn’t killed by your ancestors. He didn’t die in Caulfield. His death was an accident. Your family had nothing to do with that.” Elara insisted.

Michael pulled Alex close and whispered soft words in his ear. 

Alex pushed him away and jumped off the lounge. His breath hitched when he spoke. “I don’t want to hurt you anymore.”

Michael sprang off the lounge and pulled Alex into his arms. “You won’t. I know you won’t. Please let me love you. Let us love each other.”

“Okay, okay.” Alex wiped his eyes. “What do we have to do?”

Elara guided them back to the lounge and asked them to remove their shirts and face each other. She took Michael’s hand and placed it over the handprint on Alex’s chest, mirroring the action with Alex. “Focus on the love you have for each other. Let it flow freely. Don’t hold anything back. Push your love forward.”

Alex looked at Michael and offered a small smile, trying to do everything Elara said, not sure it was working. He could feel warmth spreading through his chest from Michael’s glowing hand but he wasn’t sure if Michael could feel anything from him. Elara reached out and covered his hand with hers. He knew the moment his handprint formed from the soft gasp spilling from Michael’s lips. 

Everything slowed around him, the air shifted creating a soft breeze. Slowly, Elara took her hand away, letting Alex lift his hand to reveal a shimmering handprint on Michael’s chest. 

Alex traced the handprint, mesmerized by it’s shimmering glow. “It worked.”

“I didn’t realize...” Michael began, not finding the right words to express what he was feeling. 

“I love you so much.” Alex choked back a sob and surged forward to capture Michael’s lips with his own.

Michael deepened the kiss, letting his tongue wander into Alex’s mouth, the sounds of pleasure from Alex’s mouth making him hard.   
Alex ran his hand down Michael’s side and slipped his fingers inside his waistband. 

Michael pulled Alex fully on top of him and slid his hands down Alex’s back, coming to rest on his ass.

Alex ground down on Michael, moaning at the feel of their bodies sliding against each other.

They were so consumed with pleasure, basking in the newfound glow of the handprints neither man noticed Elara slip back into the house. Smiling to herself, she settled next to her healers to get a few more hours of sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

Alex woke with a start, momentarily confused why he was outside, naked and wrapped around Michael, under a soft blanket he can’t remember pulling over them. The events of the previous twenty four hours played through his head. Beginning with Aria’s panicked phone call and ending with the best sex of his life. Michael’s breath tickled the side of his neck, his soft breathing indicating he was still sleeping. Not wanting to wake him, Alex carefully slid from under his arms. He tried not to think too hard about the two piles of neatly folded clothes next to him, guessing someone had covered them during the early hours of the morning. Pulling on his sleep pants and a tee shirt, he quietly made his way back inside. 

Isobel didn’t notice him. She moved around his kitchen with ease, pulling out dishes to set on the counter.

“You’re up early.” Alex commented from behind her. 

She turned and smiled at him. “Good morning to you too, love. I assume you were warm enough out there?”

Alex blushed. “I’m sorry, Iz, good morning. And...uh...thank your for...I mean, I’m guessing you...”

“You’re lucky you have such a nice ass and I didn’t have to see my brother naked.” Isobel poured him a cup of coffee.

His face and neck burned with embarrassment. “Sorry...”

Isobel handed him the cup. “Don’t apologize. This is your house, and it was a delightful view to wake up to.” She winked at him and he dissolved into laughter. 

“You’re impossible. And thank you for this.” Alex said, kissing her cheek before taking a sip of his coffee.

“You’re welcome. I sent Greg and Flint out for breakfast. I was going to cook, then I looked in your refrigerator and didn’t think I could serve the queen of an alien race ketchup and pickled jalapeños.”

Alex set his coffee down and gave her a wide smile. “Especially since I think the jalapeños have been in there since I moved in.”

Isobel let out a surprised laugh. “Are you sassing me? After I just saved you from freezing your ass off? If you want, I can let you do all this on your own.”

“Oh god! Please, no! I really don’t know how to feed and house everyone on top of everything else...” Alex stopped talking when he realized Isobel was just fucking with him. “You’re not funny.”

“Oh, c’mon, that was a little funny.” 

Alex raised an eyebrow at her over his coffee. 

“Seriously, I’m here for you. I’ll do anything you need.” Isobel kissed his cheek and turned to take more coffee cups from the cupboard. 

Flint and Greg returned with bags from the Crash Down and started setting everything out on the kitchen counter. They were almost finished when the doorbell rang. Alex moved to answer it, but Isobel guided him to a chair. “I’ve got it.”

She opened the door and was greeted by two Air Force Special Police Officers. “Ma’am, may we come in?”

Alex quickly stood and maneuvered to the door on his crutches. “Can I help you?”

The SP closest to the door answered. “Captain Manes, sorry to bother you at such an early hour but we have warrants.” 

“A warrant for what, exactly? I’d like to see them.” Alex’s face hardened and he refused to move out of the doorway.

“There are several.” The second SP handed them to Alex. 

Alex took them and read them over, his face hardening with each word he read. He could barely control his anger when he looked back to the SPs. “You seriously expect me to allow this?”

“Sir, you really don’t have a choice.”

“For one of them yes, but not for the rest. I would like to call General Henkel and my lawyer.” Alex reached for his phone and realized it was on the kitchen table. “You can come in but please be respectful, I have guests.”

The SPs followed Alex into the house and immediately moved toward Flint. “Sargeant Manes, you need to come with us.”

“Alex? What’s going on?” Flint asked, flinching at the click of metal around his wrists.

“They have warrants. I’m calling the General right now. I’m not letting anything happen to you, I promise.” Alex picked up his phone and groaned when he felt panic from Michael rise in his chest. He barely had time to push a wave of comfort back when Michael appeared in the kitchen.

“Michael, come here and stop panicking. It’s going to be okay.” Alex reached a hand out to Michael and dialed his phone with the other. 

“Captain Manes, you can’t interfere with a warrant.” 

“And you can’t arrest anyone with diplomatic immunity.” Alex snapped. He pulled Michael behind him, his anger bubbled to the surface at Michael’s trembling hands. The SPs moved towards him but stopped short as if they were being controlled. He spun on Isobel. “Isobel! Stop it! I will handle this!”

Elara quickly crossed the room and placed her hand on Isobel’s arm. “Go sit with Gregory. Everything will be okay.”

Alex waited for Isobel to leave the kitchen. “I will cooperate with these warrants once I speak with the General. You can wait right here.” Alex waited for their curt nods and turned his attention back to his phone. He pressed the General’s number and waited. 

“Good morning, General. I’m sorry to bother you so early, but I have two SPs standing in my kitchen right now.”

“Damn it! I told General Gardiner that everyone involved would come in voluntarily. I’m sorry Alex, but can you just cooperate and I’ll get this straightened out?”

“I’m sorry, sir, but I can’t do that. I’m not allowing them to arrest Michael. And you do know who is on one of the warrants, don’t you? Who would authorize that?”

“What are you talking about? They want to speak to your brothers and Michael...”

“They want Kitara and the baby. That is not happening.”

Alex spared a glance at Michael and was somewhat relieved to see his fear had changed into full fledged anger. Anger he could handle. He threaded his fingers through Michael’s and squeezed. Michael took a deep breath and squeezed back. 

“I need to make some calls. Put one of the SPs on the phone.”

“General Henkel would like to speak to you.” Alex handed the phone to the SP closest to him and waited. 

The SP listened and answered the General’s question before handing the phone back. “We’ll wait for further orders before executing the rest of the warrants.”

“Can we please uncuff Flint until you receive those orders?” Alex asked.

“No.” The SP holding onto Flint said.

The other SP shook his head and sighed. “Uncuff him.”

Alex looked around his house and noted the absence of two of Elara’s guards. He guessed they were probably standing outside his guest room to protect Clay and Kitara. He also noticed Elara was missing. He panicked for a moment until he saw her emerge from his patio. She had a faint smile on her lips and he wondered how she could be anything but furious. 

Michael tugged on his hand, pulling him further into the kitchen. “What the hell is going on?”

“My father. He has to be behind this.” Alex hissed.

“How? You don’t think they let him go do you?” Michael was back to being afraid.

“No, I don’t. But I’m sure he said things that have them wondering about his sanity, and they just want assurances. I promise I will not let them take you. You need to trust me.” Alex pulled him close and rubbed his back.

A shrill ring shattered the uneasy silence. The SP who had uncuffed Flint answered his phone.

“Hello...yes, sir...yes, sir...there were warrants...no, sir...yes, sir...I understand...yes, sir.” The SP shoved his phone back in his pocket and visibly swallowed. “Captain Manes, we apologize for interrupting your morning. We’ll show ourselves out.”

The other SP frowned. “What? Who was that?”

“We’re leaving.” He motioned for his partner to go ahead of him.

Once the door closed, Alex let out an audible breath and sank into a chair. Flint sat across from him. “What the hell just happened? I’ve never seen an SP back off like that.”

“They do when they get a call from the Secretary of Defense.” Elara spoke from behind him.

“How do you know who called him?” Flint asked.

Elara sipped her coffee. “Because I called the Secretary myself. He assured me he’d take care of everything.” 

“You called the Secretary of Defense? How...” Michael scrunched his face in confusion.

“I’m a diplomat. A Queen to be exact. Of course not everyone knows that, but the Secretary of Defense does. And he was not pleased to be wakened before nine on a Sunday because someone was trying to arrest my family. I promised him we would cooperate with the investigation and I assured him we wouldn’t retaliate against anyone for what happened to Michael and Kitara.” She turned to Alex. “Oh, you’ll be receiving a call shortly to set up a meeting with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Air Force and the Generals currently in the know about the crash and my people in Libya. I of course will accompany you to this meeting.”

Isobel’s eyes widened. “You did all that with one phone call?” 

“Yes, I did. And all without my powers. Isobel, I know you had good intentions, but using our powers should only be done as a last resort. General Henkel would have eventually fixed things, I just sped things along by making that call.” Elara gently admonished.

Isobel nodded. “I-I’m sorry. I was afraid. We don’t have a pleasant history with the military.” 

“That is completely understandable. I’m not angry with you. You have had to hide in fear your entire life, but you don’t have to be afraid anymore.” Elara assured her.

“What do we do about the investigation? Do we tell them everything?” Michael asked, still shaken from the MP’s visit.

“Yes. The time for lies and half truths is over. Once we have the meeting with the Secretary of Defense, things will be different. I should have insisted on this a long time ago.” Elara turned to Alex. “Are you sure you want to be the one in charge of this mess?”

“I want to protect my family and the best way to do that is to be in charge. Of course that means I’ll probably have to re-enlist.” Alex closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead.

“No. I’m not letting you sign your life away. Not for me. Let someone else do it.” The anger Michael had been carefully controlling slipped for a moment. A mug on the counter shattered, spilling coffee everywhere. 

Alex opened his eyes and sighed, wearily looking around the kitchen before getting up to clean the coffee. Michael took the dishrag from his hand. “I’m sorry, baby, I-I just...can we talk about this? Alone?”

Alex took a deep breath and sagged into Michael’s arms. “We’ll talk before I decide, I promise. But right now, I need to piece together what happened before we have to face the inevitable military interrogation. Greg, can you get Clay?”

Greg nodded and headed to the guest room. Alex gestured to the living room. “I think we’ll all be more comfortable in there. I have extra chairs in the garage.”

He barely got the words out before Elara was motioning for her guards to get the chairs. “Alex, go sit down. You won’t be any use if you fall over from exhaustion.” She motioned to her healers. “If you’ll allow it, Sasha can ease your headache and the pain in your leg.”

Alex shook his head. “I have medication I can take. I really don’t want another handprint...”

Elara chuckled. “It’s possible to heal without a psychic connection. There is much we need to teach you.”

Alex leaned against Michael and gave her a nod. “Please.”

Sasha stepped forward and gently placed a hand on Alex’s leg. Alex sighed at the warmth traveling through his body. Sasha removed his hands a moment later, returning to Elara’s side.

Clay entered the living room holding the baby, Kitara and Greg close behind him. “What happened? I tried to come out when I heard raised voices, but Sage and Vida wouldn’t let me.”

“Whoever is holding Dad got a little overzealous and issued warrants for Flint, Michael, Kitara and the baby. Elara took care of it.” Alex answered.

“Overzealous? Try crazy. There was honestly a warrant for Mikayla?” Clay cradled his daughter against his chest. 

Aria bounded into the room, Aylin close behind her. She stopped in front of Alex and Michael. “Can I sit on your lap?”

“Sure, sweetie.” Alex answered, sitting on the sofa so Aria could climb onto his lap. She settled and laid her head on his chest. He looked over to Clay. “Unfortunately, yes, there was a warrant for the baby. But it was illegal and we took care of it, so let’s not dwell on it.” Alex replied.

“Mikayla? Did you...” Michael wanted to ask if Clay’s daughter had been named after him, but discarded the idea as soon as it entered his head. No one would name their child after him. 

“Name her after you? Yes, we did. Well, you and Alex...and my mom, of course.” Kitara answered.

The guards finished setting up the chairs around the living room. Alex gestured for everyone to find a seat. He waited for Clay to guide Kitara to the loveseat. He smiled when Clay gently placed Mikayla in her arms and sat next to her, putting his arm around them both. “There is an old naming tradition among the Antarians. It’s expected that you choose a name that incorporates part of your mother’s name.”

Elara interrupted, giving Clay a soft smile. “Expected isn’t the right word. It’s encouraged, but definitely not required. We try to keep traditions from our home world while adapting to the world around us.” 

Clay laughed. “Okay, so maybe I made it sound like a hard and fast rule, it’s really not. But I wanted a different legacy than our doomed Manes legacy, so I embraced the naming thing. And it’s not like the names are unpleasant either. I mean, Kitara has part of Elara’s name and Aria has part of Kamaria’s name. We planned to name our newest addition Kayla but after all Alex and Michael have done to keep our children safe, we reworked her name. I’d like everyone to meet Mikayla Alexandra.”

“That’s a mouthful. Mikayla Alexandra Manes...whew...go big or go home I guess.” Flint made a face but the smile that reached his eyes a minute later gave him away.

Clay shook his head, shooting Flint an exasperated look. He glanced at Alex to gauge his reaction. Alex’s expression could only be described as stunned. His eyes travelled from Mikayla to Clay. He swallowed the lump in his throat and tried to speak. “You gave her my name? Why?”

“Because you drove seven hours to save my daughter without question. You heard a scared little girl asking for help and you didn’t hesitate. I won’t ever forget that.” Clay answered. 

Alex took a deep breath and nodded. Michael put his arm around Alex and squeezed. “We’d do it again in a minute. But I gotta ask, what happened? Alex found the text you sent to the burner phone. Why didn’t you go into the safe room with Aria?” Michael directed the last part of his question to Kitara.

“I thought I could get in Jesse’s mind and influence him to forget about what he saw. I thought I could convince him to leave and never come back. I didn’t count on the pollen. It was reckless and I put everyone in danger.” Kitara leaned her head on Clay’s shoulder, eyes brimming with tears.

“I’m confused. What did he see? I thought he went after you because of the mole.” Alex sat up straighter.

“He came to the house a few days ago. He said he was working on a new project and he wanted to have me transferred back to Roswell to help. I didn’t want to go, so he started spouting some crap about it being our duty as Manes men to protect and serve. I told him that’s what I’d been doing for the past twenty years and tried to slam the door in his face.” Clay started to explain. 

Kitara picked up the explanation. “He pushed his way inside. I was in the living room with Aria. He started yelling about Clay’s duty to the family and how he found a way to finish what his grandfather had started. I tried to get us out of the room and upstairs before he could see us, but he shoved Clay against the wall and it scared Aria. Things in the living room started levitating. I thought I got it under control before he saw but...”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to use my powers.” Aria whispered.

“Sssh, little one, it’s not your fault. Why don’t you go play with Aylin?” Kitara suggested.

“There’s nothing to play with here.” Aria pouted. 

Kitara looked around and saw Alex’s keyboard near the window. “Why don’t you see if Uncle Alex will let you practice piano?”

Alex realized Kitara was trying to get Aria out of the room. “There’s a smaller keyboard in my room she can play with. Let me go move it into the guest room.”

Michael pressed a kiss to Alex’s forehead. “Let me. It won’t take a minute.”

Aylin held his hand out to Aria and led her back to the guest room where Michael was already hooking up the keyboard. “If you need anything else let me know. If she gets hungry...”

“Thank you, Michael. Aria loves playing piano. We will be fine.” Aylin assured him.

Michael returned to his seat next to Alex and waited for Kitara to continue her explanation. 

“Like I was saying, Jesse must have seen what Aria had done. I should have gotten into his mind then. I should have called my mother. I should have insisted we leave that night. There are so many things I could have done to avoid all this.” Kitara wrung her hands in her lap.

Flint leaned forward in his seat to look into Kitara’s watery eyes. “But you didn’t. We need to stop with all the should haves. My father is a homophobic, xenophobic, psychopath who has to be in control at all times. There really was a mole. He didn’t find out about Aria because she moved a few things around the living room. He went there to confirm what they told him. This isn’t your fault, and it’s definitely not Aria’s.” 

Alex’s attention turned to Flint. “What did he want with the children?”

Flint glanced at Clay and then back to Alex. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “The bomb targets Antarian DNA. But the scientists warned that it might not work if the DNA wasn’t pure.”

“He wanted to test the bomb on my children? And you were going to let him?” Clay shouted, waking Mikayla.

Kitara pulled Mikayla closer, soothing her back to sleep with soft words and kisses. 

Flint flinched at the accusation. “No! I wouldn’t have let him hurt them. I swear.”

Clay wasn’t satisfied with Flint’s vague answer. “How? How would you have stopped him? If Michael hadn’t been there Kitara would probably still be locked in that cage. You talk a good game little brother but face it, you would have sold out my daughter to save yours!”

“That’s not true! I would have found a way.” Flint looked away from Clay’s accusing eyes.

“What would you have done? Tell me! I want to know what your plan was!” Clay stood and moved into Flint’s space.

Shaking, Flint backed away from Clay. He tried to form an answer, but he knew nothing he could say would satisfy Clay and telling him the truth would probably earn him a punch in the face.

Greg pushed his way between them. “Stop it! This isn’t helping anything. Dad is an asshole! He has pitted us against each other since we were kids. Clay, your family is safe. I know it’s terrifying to think of what could have happened, but it didn’t. And Flint, I know you’re hiding something. We need to know everything so we can fix this and move forward. I promise I won’t get mad...”

Flint scoffed. “You say that now but trust me, you’re going to be just as pissed as everyone else.”

Clay put a hand to his chest and sighed. His gaze left Flint and fell on Kitara. She raised her eyebrow at him and gave him a stern look. He smiled softly before turning back to Flint. “Greg is right. We need to know everything. Alex is putting his ass on the line for us and he can’t go into this meeting tomorrow without all the information. I promise I won’t get mad at what you have to say.”

“You’re going to hit me.” Flint predicted pitifully.

“No one is going to hit anyone.” Elara said gently. 

Once everyone sat back down, Flint spoke. “I knew Dad was going to use Michael to get to Alex. I planned to stall him until Michael’s powers came back, but if that didn’t work I knew the scientists wouldn’t be able to use the DNA from the children the way they wanted to. Dad doesn’t get all the science stuff and I’ll admit I’m not that knowledgeable either, but even I could figure out that if they used it to enhance the bomb, it would have had some undesirable side effects.”

Flint stopped talking and Liz groaned. “If they used Mikayla or Aria’s DNA to test and enhance the bomb, it would have killed anyone with Manes DNA too. It would have killed your father when he set it off.”

“I knew that would buy me more time to get them out. I know it wasn’t a fool proof plan. I know I was taking risks. I’m sorry. You’re right, I would have done almost anything for Hailey, but I would never have traded her life for theirs. I would have found a way. I would have bargained my life away to keep them safe.” Flint rested his head in his hands, hiding the tears welling up in his eyes.

“Well, I have my work cut out for me. I not only have to worry about our military capturing my family, but now I have to worry about scientists creating weapons to commit genocide. Is there anything else I should know?” Alex shook his head in frustration. 

Flint lifted his head. “I know I don’t have a right to ask for any more favors, but can you have Hailey brought here? I know the Air Force won’t let me leave the state right now, but I need to know she’s safe.”

Alex stood and walked into the kitchen where he left his phone. He came back a few minutes later. “She’ll be here by the end of the day tomorrow. The General told me to expect a call from the Secretary of the Air Force in the next five minutes. Do I have all the information I need? I won’t be blindsided by anything Dad might have said or done?”

“You know everything I know.” Flint assured him.

“What about the mole? And the other airmen working with Dad? Is there some kind of list?” Alex asked.

“The sniper got most of them, including the mole. Two survived. Dad sent them to the base for safety. I’m sure they are in custody by now along with all the other base personnel, but I have an encrypted file on my laptop with all their names.” Flint answered.

“Good. I’ll need to get that before my meeting.” Alex’s phone rang. He glanced at the number. “Which I’m guessing is about to be scheduled right now. I’m going to take this in the other room.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is short but the next chapter (and sadly the last) will be much longer.
> 
> Just a quick note...when I wrote this chapter Mark Esper was the Secretary of Defense, so I left it as is and didn’t change it to reflect the change that occurred a few weeks ago.

“I don’t like that you have to go to the base again. Did you forget what happened last time?” Michael watched Alex get ready for his meeting with the Secretary of Defense.

Alex smiled and leaned down to kiss Michael. “But this time you will have two trained Antarian guards here with you. And I will have your sister and the other two trained Antarian guards with me. I won’t be long, I promise.”

Michael pushed himself on his elbow, shifting so the sheet fell off his hip revealing his naked form. “Please don’t sign anything until we’ve talked about you re-upping. I know you want to keep us safe and you think that’s the only way, but I want to weigh all our options.”

Alex let his eyes trail down Michael’s body. Michael smirked. “You like what you see? Maybe you can spare a few minutes?”

“As much as I would love to press you right back into the mattress and hear you moan my name, I really need to get ready for this meeting. I promised you I wouldn’t do anything without discussing it with you, and I intend to keep that promise.” Alex ran his hand down Michael’s side before pushing off the bed and pulling on his uniform. 

“I really hate when you wear that. It freaks me out.” Michael sighed and threw the covers completely off. 

Alex let Michael circle his arms around his waist and kiss his neck. “I know you hate it. But right now, I need to go get all the answers the Air Force has been hiding from your family. And I need to make sure my father never gets the chance to hurt anyone again.”

“I know, baby, I know. You go, I’ll be fine here with the Antarians and Max and Isobel. I’m actually looking forward to getting to know my nieces.” Michael opened the dresser and pulled out boxers.

Alex raised an eyebrow. “You know those are mine, right?”

“Uh-huh...and you’ll be thinking about me wearing them all during your meeting.” Michael whispered before heading into the bathroom.

“You’re a menace.” Alex called after him. He shook his head and went to see if everyone was ready to go to the base. 

@@@

Alex sat next to Elara, a guard to his right and a guard on her left, shaking his head at the generals across from him. “We’ve been sitting here for over an hour while you try to negotiate terms for your cooperation. I’m not sure why you think you have a choice in this.”

“Captain Manes, you have to understand our hesitation to just hand over decades of classified information because you ask for it. There is protocol we need to follow, this could take months.” General Gardiner tried to explain.

“That is not acceptable, General. You have kept this information classified without our knowledge. Innocent people were murdered under your command, and that is a problem. I expect full access granted to Captain Manes by the end of the day.” The Secretary of the Air Force, Barbara Barrett, leaned forward in her chair and gave General Gardiner a pointed look.

“Ma’am, with all due respect, I’m not sure you understand...” General Gardiner began.

The Secretary of Defense, Mark Esper, slammed his hand on the table. “Enough! I did not fly out here to hear excuses. You allowed the torture and subsequent murder of over sixty refugees, you kept their existence secret from your own government, you allowed the development of a bioweapon that would wipe out an entire race, also without the knowledge of your government, you kidnapped a diplomat intending to experiment on her unborn child...do I need to go on?”

“Sir, we didn’t sanction the kidnapping.” General Kressin insisted. 

“And that makes it better? Are you insane?” Alex practically shouted. He brought his hand to his heart to cover Michael’s mark, taking comfort in the waves of love and calm Michael was sending him.

“We are still your superiors! You need to show some respect!” General Gardiner shot back.

Alex scoffed. “Respect? Like the respect you showed my family when you allowed my father to break into my house and kill my sister-in-law and my brother-in-law? Like the respect you showed the Antarian diplomats when you crippled them with the pollen every time they set foot on American soil? Let’s not forget the respect you showed when you lied to them about the survivors of the 1947 crash. I know you weren’t personally responsible for the lies, but you could have ended them.” 

Elara placed a hand on Alex’s arm, the warmth flowing from her fingers calming him instantly. She waited for his breathing to even out before she spoke. “My people have been working with your government since 1948 to provide key scientific advancements that your citizens would have needlessly suffered without. We have collaborated to find solutions to climate change, renewable resources, cures for diseases that would otherwise devastate your country. I understand the fear of your ancestors, but I don’t understand _your_ fear.”

“It’s not fear.” General Henkel looked toward his colleagues almost daring them to interrupt him. When neither spoke he continued. “It’s arrogance and greed. It’s the belief that we are superior to everyone and your existence proves we aren’t. It’s easier to claim you are dangerous instead of admitting you are more powerful than us. I admit I made many mistakes since taking over the alien division. I didn’t ask enough questions and I let Master Sergeant Manes operate an alien torture facility right under my nose.”

“We didn’t know about Caulfield!” General Kressin insisted. 

“Master Sergeant Manes was acting alone. Nothing he did was sanctioned. We were just as surprised as you when we found out.” General Gardiner agreed.

“And that is a problem, gentlemen. You both knew about the survivors of the crash but you never thought to find out where they were being held? Tell me again why you both shouldn’t face court martial for violating a dozen international treaties?” Secretary Esper asked, his voice sending shivers down Alex’s spine.

“With all due respect, but neither of you did anything either.” General Gardiner stared across the table at the Secretary Esper and Secretary Barrett.

“Because until I received a call yesterday morning I had no idea there were any Antarians, except for Kitara Manes, living on American soil, captive or otherwise. I was told time and time again that every Antarian aboard that ship died on impact. Are you telling me I should assume the people under me are lying? That I shouldn’t have trusted either of you? This discussion is over. You have until the end of the day to grant Captain Manes access to everything related to the Antarians. And I do mean everything. Are we clear?” Secretary Esper spat out.

“Yes, sir.” General Kressin answered.

“Can we move on to the investigation now?” General Gardiner asked.

“What investigation?” Secretary Barrett asked, narrowing her eyes at the generals.

“Captain Manes interfered with our warrants yesterday. We have yet to speak with Michael Guerin, Kitara Manes and Major Clay Manes. And I’m honestly not sure why Sergeant Flint Manes is not in custody for his part in all this.” General Gardner replied.

“You issued illegal warrants! You can’t arrest foreign diplomats!” Alex was quickly losing his patience.

“None of the Manes are diplomats and neither is Michael Guerin.” General Gardiner argued.

“Yes, he is. He is my brother and not born in your country, therefore he is a foreign national. And since he is next in line for the throne, he is also a diplomat. I understand you would like answers to all your questions about what happened but you could have asked us. It was unnecessary to place anyone in handcuffs.” Elara was deceptively calm when she spoke. 

We arrested a respected member of the United States Air Force on the word of his sons and a foreign national that he committed any crimes. We need to be sure.” General Kressin insisted. 

“You need to be sure? You want proof? Okay. Okay. I want to show you something. I need a laptop.” Alex knew his voice was shaking, but he wanted to be done with this meeting. He wanted to be back safe in Michael’s arms.

Secretary Barrett lifted the phone and a few minutes later a laptop was being placed in front of Alex. He opened it and accessed the feed from his security cameras. He retrieved the saved footage of the attack on his house and turned the laptop for everyone to see. 

The room was silent except for his father’s voice. “I want the other child. Give her to me and I’ll make your death swift.”

Alex watched Michael defiantly shake his head, not uttering a single word. Even knowing what was coming, Alex flinched at the two gunshots that followed Michael’s refusal. The screams that filled the conference room tore his heart in two. He would fight the devil himself to make sure Michael never made those sounds again. Wordlessly, he closed the laptop and looked around the room. Secretary Barrett sat with her hand covering her mouth, Secretary Esper’s nostrils flared with every breath he took, and the generals looked suitably horrified.

“Is that enough proof or do you need something else? Because I can let Elara pull us into my mind and show you what a _wonderful_ father Sergeant Manes was. Or better yet we can go into his mind and then you can see what he did to all the aliens he imprisoned.” Alex stared at each of the generals, face devoid of emotion.

General Gardiner opened his mouth to speak but Secretary Esper raised his hand. “No. You’re done speaking. I don’t want to hear another word. What you allowed to happen at the hands of Master Sergeant Manes is treason. He will be punished accordingly. As for Flint Manes, I assume there are extenuating circumstances?”

Alex nodded. “My father forced Flint into obeying his orders and when he refused, he killed his girlfriend. He also kept his daughter under constant surveillance, taunting my brother with pictures and threats that she was next. Flint and I understand he will have to be dishonorably discharged and face consequences for his actions, but we hope for leniency.”

Secretary Barrett sighed. “And is his daughter safe now? Do you need us to provide protection?”

“She’s safe, thank you.”

“Captain Manes, what assurances do you need from us that this is over?” Secretary Esper asked.

“All the information we have on the crash and everything that followed will need to be moved to a secure server with limited access, hopefully by people I select. All alien tech and any artifacts from the crash needs to be returned to the Antarians. And this the most important thing, all research used to build that smart bomb must be destroyed once the Antarian scientists see it. I know all of this is a logistical nightmare and won’t happen overnight, but I need to be sure my family is safe.” Alex hoped his requests wouldn’t be seen as the demands they really were.

“I would like to add a few requests on behalf of my people.” Elara said once Alex finished. 

“Of course, Elara.” Secretary Esper answered. 

“I would like to have the status of Max and Isobel Evans and Michael Guerin changed to reflect their new status as Antarian royalty, including the full considerations afforded to foreign diplomats. I want Captain Manes to remain in charge of the alien information without having to re-enlist. And I would like to respectfully request that no disciplinary actions be taken against Flint Manes. He is a good man and we hold no ill will against him for his part in Caulfield. His father tortured and manipulated him for over twelve years, and yet he helped my granddaughter. He risked the life of his daughter to save my granddaughter and her unborn child.”

“No. We can’t allow that, he needs to be punished along with his father. This would set a dangerous precedent.“ General Gardiner objected. 

Secretary Barrett glared at him. “I’d stop talking right now.” She turned to Secretary Esper. “Your thoughts?”

“It’s less than I expected, I think we’re getting a gift.” He looked between Alex and Elara. “Okay. We can work with what you’ve requested. Like you said, Captain, moving everything to a secure server will take time but I assure you it will happen. You will have access to any information we have, that can be done before you leave. I have to ask though, are you sure you don’t want to re-up? We could definitely use your negotiation techniques at the Pentagon.” Secretary Esper asked. 

Alex found his first smile since he sat down. “Sir, while that is a tempting offer I respectfully decline. I made a promise not to decide about my future until I talked to my partner.”

“Well, just know the offer is always on the table. For now, let your brother know that if he wishes to continue his service, we will take no disciplinary actions. Nothing will be on his permanent record. But if he chooses to leave, he can do that as well. We can discuss whether he’d prefer an honorable discharge or retirement. We will also need to know if he wants the death ruled a homicide.”

“I’ll talk to him, but honestly I think for the sake of his daughter we keep it classified as an accident. I don’t want that following her around. Kids can be cruel, and it’s going to be hard enough changing schools when she moves to Roswell without her classmates whispering about how her grandfather killed her mother. I will ask there be an official record somewhere so we can tell her when she’s old enough to understand.” Alex relaxed now plans were being made. This nightmare was ending. 

@@@

Alex, Elara, and the guards returned to the house mid afternoon, weary from their meeting.

Michael greeted him at the door, pulling Alex into a tight hug. “Are you okay? I could feel the tension and frustration like I was right in the room with you.”

Alex melted into his embrace and sighed. “I am now. I don’t think I could have taken much more of their bruised egos. Thankfully Secretary Esper and Secretary Barrett were behind us one hundred percent. My father is facing life in a military prison and no charges are being filed against Flint. There’s a list of things they agreed to, but the most important thing is you’re safe now. I’ll be in charge of all the alien information the military has. And before you ask, no, I did not re-up. Your sister made that one of her conditions.”

“Oh yeah? What other conditions did she have?” Michael asked, glancing to the kitchen where Elara was talking to Isobel and Max.

Alex gave a little shrug. “I’ll let her tell you, Prince Michael.”

“What?” Michael asked, his question drowned out by Isobel’s squeal of delight.

“She had you three classified as Antarian royalty. Isobel is officially a princess.” Alex chuckled.

Michael groaned. “You know she’s going to make us call her Princess Isobel.”

“Yes, sweetheart, I’m fully aware.” Alex looked around his mostly empty living room. “Where is everybody?”

“Kyle got called in to the hospital, Liz and Rosa went home to help Arturo and Maria had to open the bar. Your brothers are around here somewhere. Oh, Hailey arrived about an hour ago. I let Flint use our bedroom to talk to her, I hope you don’t mind.” Michael took Alex’s hand and led him to the couch. 

“Did you at least make the bed?” 

Michael rolled his eyes. “Do I look like a complete heathen to you?”

Alex raised an eyebrow. “Do you really want an answer to that?”

“God, I love you, snark and all.” Michael leaned over and kissed him gently.

“I love you too. Thank you for everything today. I really needed the comfort you pushed through our bond.” Alex curled into Michael, resting his head on his chest.

“Anytime, baby.” Michael pressed a kiss to Alex’s hair.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex and Michael are finally getting their happily ever after.

CHAPTER 10

Six months later...

“Do we have everything? Your meds? Extra liners for the prosthetic?” Michael nervously checked the carryon bag for the fifth time.

“Relax, we have everything.” Alex stilled Michael’s hands and zipped the bag.

“I’m trying but it’s not easy. Are you sure I’ll be able to get on that plane? This passport won’t raise any red flags?” Michael paced their living room while they waited for everyone to arrive. 

“Michael, it’s fine. It’s legal and it’s yours. Why are you so nervous?” Alex pulled Michael into his arms.

“I’ve never flown before. What if I get motion sickness? What if I have a panic attack?” 

“You won’t. You flew across the galaxy remember?” Alex soothed. 

“I was in a pod. I don’t remember it.” Michael sighed. “I guess I don’t want to embarrass you...”

Alex carded his fingers through Michael’s curls to calm him. “You could never embarrass me. I promise it’s going to be fine. It is a long flight but we’re in first class so we should have plenty of space. Besides, it’s only going to be family surrounding us. Isobel bought out all the seats in first class, remember” 

“Yeah, I remember.” Michael relaxed slightly, enjoying Alex’s hands in his hair. “Do you think they’ll like me?”

Michael said the words so softly Alex wasn’t sure he heard correctly. “Who? Your family?”

“Everyone. I mean I know my sister likes me but what about everyone else? The three of us have been gone for seventy years. What if we do or say something wrong,” Michael let out a deep sigh. “What if we don’t live up to their expectations?”

“They are going to love you. They don’t expect anything from you or Max or Isobel. They want to see for themselves that you are safe and happy. I’m sure it will be overwhelming, but remember, so many of them already know and love you.” 

Michael was saved from answering by a horn signaling the arrival of the others. He picked up the bags and opened the door. Shaking his head, he called over his shoulder. “Did we really have to tell her she’s a princess?”

Alex peered around Michael and laughed. Isobel had assured them she would hire a car to take them all to the airport. She neglected to tell them it would be a shiny black stretch limo. “You don’t think she would have rented that even if she wasn’t a princess?”

“I guess you’re right. Okay, let’s get this show on the road.” Michael handed over his bags to the driver and helped Alex into the limo. 

@@@

They arrived in Libya without incident. Elara was there to greet them, Clay and Kitara by her side. After greetings of hugs and kisses, Elara led them to the waiting cars. “Your luggage will be waiting for you when we get home. I know you’ve had a long journey and need to rest before all the Royal functions start.”

Alex felt Michael tense beside him. He quickly soothed him with waves of love and a soft kiss. “You’re not having second thoughts, are you?”

Michael shook his head while waited they for Isobel and Greg to decide who they were riding with. “I love you and while part of me wants a small ceremony, a bigger part wants the world to know how much I love you. So, no second thoughts. Just nervous, I guess. I don’t want to screw up in front of everyone. I mean, it’s not every day their long lost prince gets married, right?”

“Married. I’m never going to get tired of hearing that. I’m getting married. To the love of my life. My gorgeous prince. My soulmate.” Alex pulled him close to kiss him again. 

Isobel made a gagging noise behind Alex, causing him to turn and glare at her. “You are both disgustingly sweet and I love it but I’m tired and want to take a nap before I have to perform my royal duties. Let’s get a move on.”

“Royal duties? Do you expect to stand on a balcony and wave at your adoring subjects like Princess Kate?” Michael teased.

Isobel pushed him towards the car. “Just get in the car.”

“As you wish, your highness.” Michael ducked into the car before Isobel smacked him. 

@@@

The next day was a whirlwind of activity for Michael and Alex. People were coming from all over the world for their wedding. Clay, Kitara, their kids, Flint and Hailey had arrived a few days prior. Max, Liz, Rosa, Isobel and Greg had flown in with Michael and Alex, and they expected Kyle and Maria to arrive by the end of the week. Michael had even convinced Sanders to make the trip, insisting Nora and Louise would have wanted them there. 

Elara asked them for what seemed like the hundredth time if they wanted a royal wedding or if they’d rather just have a small ceremony with family. They both assured her every time she asked, that they understood how important the ceremony was to the Antarians. Those born on Antar were excited to see their royal children again, and those born on Earth were curious to meet the subjects of their bedtime stories. They could handle the pomp and circumstance for a few days if it made everyone happy. 

While smaller than the royal palace on Antar, Elara’s home could accommodate everyone from Roswell comfortably. They gave Alex and Michael the largest guest suite on the opposite of the estate than everyone else. 

Michael set his bags down. “You fall asleep outside naked once and you’re forever banished to the room farthest from everybody.”

“I kinda like it. It means we don’t have to worry about disturbing anyone on our wedding night.” Alex winked while he unpacked. 

Michael’s arms circled his waist. “I like how you think. You wanna get started on our wedding night right now?”

Alex pushed his hands away from his belt. “Behave. We actually have royal engagements even if Isobel doesn’t, remember?”

Michael groaned. “What good is being a prince if I don’t get to do what I want?”

“Do you really mean that?” Alex asked, closing the drawer.

“No. I never expected any of this, but I’m not a total delinquent. I know how much all this means to Elara. I’ll be good, I promise.”

“Good, because if you’re on your best behavior tonight, I’ll let you have your way with me when we get back.” Alex offered.

“Anything I want?” 

Alex wasn’t sure he liked the gleam in Michael’s eye. “Within reason. As much as I love feeling it in the morning, we have a ton of appearances before the wedding. I’d prefer not being the source of gossip.”

“Sounds fair.” Michael kissed him, soft and tender. 

A knock on their door interrupted them. Alex opened it to find Elara and her stylists, arms full of clothes and accessories. Michael rolled his eyes and flopped on the bed. Alex shook his head and stepped aside to let them in. 

“Michael, I know you hate this and normally I wouldn’t force you to wear all this but...” Elara started sympathetically.

“It’s okay. I get it. It’s important to our people to keep the traditions from home.” Michael watched the staff hang up the elaborate outfits they expected him and Alex to wear for the formal reception later that evening. He groaned when he saw one stylist setting up her makeup in the dressing room. “Makeup? Really?”

Alex smirked. “I thought you liked the way I looked with eye makeup?”

“I do. I don’t like it on me. It doesn’t quite fit my macho cowboy swagger.” Michael pouted.

“I think it makes you look hot.” Alex whispered in his ear.

One stylist coughed to cover her laugh. Elara gave her a warning glance before letting out an exaggerated sigh. “I’ll make you a deal. No makeup except for the wedding, if you promise not to sneak off with Alex during any of the engagements this week.”

Michael perked up. “Deal.”

Elara wasn’t convinced. “I need to hear you say it.”

“I promise I will not sneak away with Alex to do naughty things in a royal broom closet.” Michael smirked, earning him a glare from Alex and a playful slap from his sister. 

“Go shower. The stylists will be back in an hour to help you get ready.” Elara pulled Michael into a crushing hug. “Thank you for doing all this for us.”

Michael hugged her back. “I love you, Elara. Your happiness is worth a few hours in complicated clothes and glittery makeup. I promise I won’t embarrass you in front of our people.”

“I never thought you would. I’ll see you in about two hours.” Elara gestured for the stylists to leave the room.

Michael pounced on Alex the minute the door clicked shut. “You heard her, we have an hour to do dirty things in the shower.”

Alex let himself be pulled into the spacious bathroom. “I don’t think that’s what she meant.”

“So you don’t want a blowjob in this exquisite shower Elara had built just for you?” Michael teased.

“Oh, I didn’t say that. Lead the way, Prince Michael.” 

“You know after Saturday you’re going to be Prince Alex, right?” 

Alex grinned. “But it doesn’t bother me like it bothers you.”

Instead of answering, Michael stripped out of his clothes and adjusted the water temperature. He turned to Alex, beckoning him closer. Smiling softly, Alex undressed quickly and joined Michael under the water. “I love you, Michael.”

Alex let go of the bars, letting Michael hold him up with his telekinesis. He pulled him close and dropped small kisses along Alex’s jaw, sucking the sensitive spot behind his ear. “I love you too, baby, always.”

“And forever.” Alex added.

@@@

The day of their wedding arrived and both Michael and Alex were leisurely enjoying their morning together. They sat on the couch in their sitting room sipping the coffee Elara had sent up for them. Alex let his head rest against Michael’s chest, just listening to his heartbeat. He looked up when Michael cleared his throat.

“Sasha came to see me yesterday when you were with your brothers and he brought one of the engineers with him.” 

“Oh yeah, what did they want? Are they going to try to tempt you with a job offer? I said I’d consider moving if you really want to.” Alex playfully traced his handprint on Michael’s heart.

“No, I mean yeah they did but that’s not the real reason they were here.” Michael deflected.

Alex lifted his head to look at Michael. “What’s wrong? Did they say something to upset you?”

Michael shook his head. “They want to build you a new prosthetic. Sasha went to the science team when he got back from Roswell and asked what they could do. He was appalled at how badly yours hurt you when you stood on it too long. I told him I would talk to you and that you don’t usually let anyone see your leg so not to get his hopes up.”

Alex stared at Michael for a few minutes, trying to comprehend his words. 

“You hate the idea. Don’t worry I didn’t commit to anything. I’ll just tell him no thank you. I’m sorry I upset you on our wedding day...” Michael fumbled for the words to calm Alex. 

“Michael, it’s okay. I’m not mad or upset. I’m just trying to find the right words. I’m honored they want to make something for me. I’m not used to people I hardly know thinking of ways to make my life easier.” Alex kissed Michael softly.

“There’s something else and this you can totally say no to. Sasha asked for permission to let the healers use their TK to make things easier for you today. It’s going to be a long day and they’re worried you won’t be able to enjoy it because you’ll be in pain. And this way you won’t have to take any medication that might make you sleepy. I know you don’t like giving up control but they promise they’ll only cushion your leg, they won’t control any movements or anything like that.” 

Alex smiled. “They are going to spoil me. You’re going to have to train with them while you’re here so you can do that for me when we get back to Roswell.” 

Michael pulled him into a hug. “If you’d let me I’d use my powers to always make you comfortable. But since I can’t be with you twenty four seven, hopefully the new prosthetic will be less painful.” 

“I have no doubt it will be significantly more comfortable than anything the VA can make. Their kindness humbles me.” 

Michael was about to say something when a knock on their door interrupted his thoughts. “That can’t be the stylists already? It’s barely eight o’clock!”

Alex shook his head. “It’s not, they won’t be here until around ten. You want to see who it is?”

“Anything for you, my prince.” Michael winked before getting up to answer the door.

Alex lightly smacked his ass when he got up. “Smart ass.”

“Sexy ass, you mean.”

Alex rolled his eyes. “Go answer the door, please.”

Michael opened the door and was almost knocked over. “Uncle Michael! Pick me up!”

“Aria! Can you at least say hello first?” Clay admonished gently.

“I’m sorry, Daddy. Hello, Uncle Michael, pick me up!”

Michael laughed and scooped her up and gave her a big kiss. “Hello to you too, my little princess.”

“Sorry to barge in here so early, but Aria wanted to see you before the wedding and I knew she wouldn’t give up until she saw you both. Is Alex still sleeping?” Clay shifted Mikayla to his shoulder and looked behind Michael. 

“I’m in here.” Alex called from the sitting room. 

Clay walked into the sitting room. “How are you two doing? Nervous yet?”

Alex raised an eyebrow. “Should we be?”

Clay just shrugged. “I kinda was on my wedding day. There’s a lot of pomp and circumstance when you marry a member of the Royal Family.”

“Can’t be worse than the military ceremonies I’ve had to endure. At least this is something I want to do. I’m only worried about forgetting my vows.” Alex reached his hands out for Mikayla.

Clay handed him the baby and smiled when he brought her close to kiss her head. “You look good with a baby in your arms.”

Alex blushed and nuzzled her hair. “I feel good too.” He looked to Michael and shook his head at the goofy grin on his face. “What?” 

Michael walked closer. “You look so happy holding her.”

“I want one.” Alex said honestly. 

“Well, let’s put a ring on my finger before you put a bun in my oven.” Michael said.

Alex gave him a questioning look. “You can...but...we’ve...how?”

Clay cleared his throat. “Uh, I’ll be back in a few minutes, I have to take Aria to her grandmother’s so Kitara and I can get ready for the ceremony. Are you okay with Mikayla?”

“Yeah, we’ll be fine. We’ll see you later little one.” Michael said, setting Aria on the floor. He waited until he heard the door close before turning back to Alex. “You were sputtering something?”

“You can get pregnant?” Alex asked, eyes wide.

Michael nodded. 

“But we’ve had unprotected sex!” Alex exclaimed.

“Before we completed the soul bond it would have been impossible for me to get pregnant. It’s kind of like an assurance babies aren’t created unless there is a real commitment.” Michael explained. 

“Uh...we’ve had tons of unprotected sex in the last six months...”

Michael rubbed his hand on the back of his neck. “Yeah, about that. Elara kind of had the healers put some kind of block on me...kind of like an alien birth control. She said they’d remove it if we ever wanted kids. So...do you want them to?”

Alex was having a hard time keeping up. “Want them to what?”

“Remove the birth control.” Michael chuckled. 

“Seriously? Just like that? You’re going to say yes without any discussion?” Alex was reeling.

“Baby, if you want to be a dad, I’m all in. Having a beautiful little girl or boy with the love of my life? Yup, sign me up.” Michael settled next to Alex on the couch and ran his hand over Mikayla’s back. 

Alex couldn’t contain his grin. “Think we can get started tonight after the ceremony?”

Michael threw his head back and laughed, startling Mikayla. He rubbed her back again to calm her. “Oh, so sorry sweet pea.” He took Alex’s face in his hands and leaned close to rest their foreheads together. “There is nothing I want more than to make a baby with you. I’ll go see Sasha before the stylists get here.”

“I love you.” Alex sighed at Michael’s gentle caress of his cheek before he pulled back.

“And I love you too, my beautiful prince.” Michael said, eyes twinkling.

Alex blushed and shook his head. “I’m not a prince yet. We still have the ceremony to get through.”

@@@

Michael slipped back into the suite right before the stylists were due to arrive. He found Alex wrapped up in his robe on the bed reading. “How are you this calm?”

Alex shrugged, closing the book. “This is something good. Something we both want. Yeah, there will be a huge amount of people watching us get married, but today is our day. I thought after all the parties this week you would realize your people love you. There’s nothing to be stressed about. How did it go with Sasha?”

Michael flopped on the bed next to Alex and kissed him passionately. “Operation baby is a go.”

“Is there anything we need to do?” Alex asked.

“Like what?” Michael asked raising an eyebrow.

“I don’t know, something to help things along? This is all new territory for me. I never had to worry about getting anyone pregnant.”

Michael let out a soft laugh and pulled Alex into his arms. “I’m pretty sure we do what we’re good at and the baby will get made. There’s no alien secret, I promise. Now can we stop talking about this because I really don’t want to have to explain to my sister why the stylists found us having sex two hours before our wedding.”

Alex chuckled and gave Michael a quick peck on the cheek. “Okay, go get into your robe. The stylists will be here in a few minutes. And remember, you promised Elara you would wear the makeup and they’re bringing the crowns so please don’t give them a hard time when they start messing with your hair.”

Michael rolled his eyes. “I’ll be a good boy, I promise. You’ll just have to help me wash off all the glitter tonight.”

“Oh, that’s not going to be a problem.” Alex winked. 

A knock on the door interrupted their flirting. Michael hopped off the bed and let the stylists in. He was surprised to see Elara and Sasha with them. “Is everything okay?”

“Everything is fine. Sasha wants to talk to Alex and demonstrate what the healers are going to be doing for him today. And I brought the crowns. They haven’t been out of my quarters since we got them back, so I’m a bit nervous.” Elara explained, motioning Sasha forward. He nodded to Elara and entered the bedroom to talk to Alex.

“If you’re worried I’ll do something to them, we don’t have to wear them.” Michael offered. 

“That’s not it, I know you’ll both be careful with them. It’s just...I thought I’d never see them again after the Roswell crash. I only had mine, we’ve created new ones for Kamaria and Kitara but these are the real crowns from Antar. The Air Force returned them a few weeks ago. You’ll be wearing our father’s crown and Alex will be wearing yours from when you were a child. We had to modify it so it’ll fit him but after today they will belong to you.” Elara took a case from one of the stylists and nodded for her to go to the dressing room to continue setting up.

“But you’ll keep them here, right? We don’t have to take them back to Roswell with us?” Michael suddenly felt nervous. He didn’t want to be in charge of priceless heirlooms from another galaxy.

Elara gestured for him to sit. “I will keep them here if that’s what you wish. But you can take them with you if you prefer.”

“I don’t think we’ll have any place to wear them back in Roswell.” Michael laughed.

Elara opened the case and watched Michael’s expression soften to something close to amazement. 

“These are beautiful.” He ran his fingers over the larger crown, which was more like a circlet than the full crown he was expecting. It was made of shining silver twisted into a beautiful pattern with a sparkling iridescent bluish purple stone set in the center. It was open in the back, allowing it to be placed into his curls without flattening them. “This was our father’s? He wore this?”

Elara smiled. “He did. It was made especially for him. He hated our traditional crowns because he said they ‘crushed his glorious curls’.”

Michael laughed. He loved learning about his parents especially from Elara. Her face would soften and her voice would grow fond every time she spoke of their life on Antar. He was glad talking about them only brought her joy now. As a child he had wished for his parents to come get him, but as a teen Elara had to cope with the devastating truth that her parents were never coming back. He was thankful she didn’t let that truth destroy her. 

Michael inspected Alex’s crown and found it to be the same design as his just without the stone. “No stone?”

“You were too young for a stone. My first crown, which is now Aria’s doesn’t have a stone either. If you ever decide to take the throne, we’ll have a stone added.” Elara explained.

“That’s a possibility? Doesn’t the throne pass to Kamaria?” 

Elara shrugged. “It can but I know she doesn’t really want it. She expressed the desire to let the throne skip over her and go straight to Kitara and Clay. But I’m not sure Kitara will be ready when I feel like stepping down. You don’t have to make a decision now or even in the next ten years. I’m not stepping down anytime soon, just keep the thought in the back of your mind and maybe discuss it with Alex. Okay, enough heavy stuff, it’s your wedding day!” 

Michael smiled. “Thank you for doing all this for us. It means a lot to both Alex and I to be surrounded by family today.”

Elara threw her arms around Michael and pulled him tight. “I am so happy you’re both here. I missed you so much over the years and sometimes I forget I can call you whenever I want now and you’ll be there smiling brightly at me on the other side of the screen. I would move heaven and earth if I could to make you happy.”

Michael could feel tears welling up in his eyes. “Hey, you gotta stop with all the mushy stuff, the stylists are going to complain about your puffy eyes.”

Elara let out a wet laugh and pulled back to look at Michael. “I’m the queen. I can have puffy eyes if I want to. But you’re right, there will be time enough later for all the mushy stuff. Right now you need to get dressed. I love you, Michael.”

“I love you too, sis.” Michael picked up the case holding the crowns and headed into the dressing room where the stylists were waiting for him. 

Sasha joined Elara in the sitting room and put his arm around her. “It’s good to see you so happy.”

“Thank you my friend, it feels good to be so happy. I wish there was a way to keep them close. I like having them around.” Elara wiped her eyes and moved to stand. 

Sasha’s eyes twinkled while he escorted her out of the room. “I think we’re wearing them down with the offers to work with the science team. You may get your wish sooner than you think.”

@@@

“Oh, Michael...you look amazing.” Isobel came up behind him and slid her arms around his waist, the silk cape attached to her arms flowing softy in front of him. He turned and took in the gown she was wearing, marveling at the silver beadwork that covered the bodice and trailed down the length of the dress. The pink, purple and blues of the dresses blended together and shimmered when she moved, reminiscent of the console Michael had pieced together. A crown similar to Alex’s sat on her head, wrapped around her perfect updo, long blonde tendrils hanging softly. She looked beautiful. 

“Don’t wrinkle anything, Iz. It took over an hour to get into this outfit. I’m not even sure I can go to the bathroom without a tutorial.” Michael complained.

Isobel smiled. “I’m sure it’s not that bad. Are you ready?”

“To marry Alex? I’ve been ready since he asked six months ago.”

“I meant to get into place? You do remember what you’re supposed to do, right?” Isobel asked. 

“Yes, I remember. You’re not upset that you won’t be standing up there next to me, are you?” Michael linked arms with her and walked down the hall to the chapel where he would be getting married.

“It’s not the Antarian way. Elara said she would make adjustments if you really wanted.” 

“Nah, it’s actually better this way. I mean how would I choose between you and Max? And don’t even get me started on Alex having to choose between his brothers and Kyle. It was shaping up to be a nightmare, so I’m kind of glad we didn’t have to pick a wedding party.” Michael stopped at the door to the chapel.

“I’d better get to my seat. I’m so happy for you and Alex. You’ve both waited a long time for this day, try to remember to enjoy it.” Isobel kissed his cheek and made her way to her seat in front Max and the rest of the royal family. 

Michael took a deep breath to try to calm his nerves. Alex was right, this was something they both wanted but Michael was still nervous he was going to make a mistake or forget his vows or something equally embarrassing. 

“It’s going to be fine.” Elara said from behind him. 

Michael turned and stared at his sister, he might have gasped, he isn’t quite sure. Elara was a vision in her gown. The gown gave the illusion of being sheer, silver patterns sparkled in the light when she moved. The sheer cape attached to the neckline of her dress flowed majestically behind her. Her crown was more of a headpiece that her stylists had incorporated into her long flowing curls. The stone in the center shimmered and changed color from pink to purple when she moved.

“You look beautiful.” Michael whispered.

“And you look so handsome. It’s a change from your normal cowboy aesthetic, I know but...” Elara smiled, tears gathering in her beautifully glittering eyes. She ran her hand gently down the front of his tunic, stopping to adjust the sash that was tied around his waist. 

Michael shook his head. “But nothing...I’m happy to wear this if it makes you happy. Don’t cry, you’ll ruin your makeup.”

“I’ll try not to. Glitter streaks running down my face is not a look befitting a queen.” Elara laughed. She reached up and brushed an errant curl from his face, taking care to not smudge the makeup covering his eyes. “We should probably get started. You’re going to be fine.”

Michael took her hand and squeezed. “I know. Thank you for being patient with me while I got used to all this fanfare. I’m not sure I’ll ever look as poised and regal as you do dressed like this but I don’t feel like I’m playing dress up anymore.”

“Oh, Michael, you already look poised and regal. Our parents would have been so proud of you.” Elara smiled softly. She let go of his hand and motioned for the guards to open the doors. With one final nod of encouragement, Elara waited in the open doors for the music to start and made her way to the front of the chapel.

Michael waited for her to turn and nod. He took a deep breath and waited for the music to change before making his way to his position next to Elara. She reached out and squeezed his hand. The music changed again and Michael turned to the door, knowing Alex would be walking toward him. Alex stepped into the doorway, his head held high, already looking every bit a prince. 

Michael knew he sucked in his breath but didn’t let it out when Elara spoke in his mind. _**“Breathe, you don’t want to pass out before you say your vows.”**_

Alex kept his eyes on Michael, a soft smile on his face. He practically glided up the aisle, until he stopped next to Michael. Elara inclined her head to Alex and smiled. 

Both Michael and Alex turned to face each other, reaching to join their hands together. Michael could feel Alex’s emotions as though they were his own, or maybe they were his. He wasn’t sure and started to panic. Alex gently rubbed his thumb across Michael’s hand and his panic instantly vanished. He looked at Elara and she winked before looking to the people gathered to witness their long lost prince wed his soul mate.

Michael barely heard what Elara was saying to the crowd. He knew he should be paying attention because at some point his participation was required, but for now he was content to stare into Alex’s eyes. 

Alex couldn’t stop smiling. He was standing in front of Michael’s people, waiting for the opportunity to recite his vows to him. Waiting to finally say everything he felt from the moment their lips touched in the UFO Emporium all those years ago. He knew Michael was barely listening to his sister so when she turned to him and held out her hand for him to take Alex’s ring, Alex squeezed his hand a little harder than necessary to get him to pay attention. 

Michael was brought out of his reverie by Alex practically crushing his hand. He blinked and realized Elara was holding out Alex’s wedding ring for him to take. He blushed and gingerly took the shining titanium band from her palm and took a deep breath. Elara smiled brightly and nodded to him. 

Michael took Alex’s hand and spoke. “Alex, this ring is my sacred gift to you. My promise to love you with all my heart.” 

He gently slid the ring on Alex’s finger and let out a sigh before continuing, “I believe in you, the person you will grow to be and the couple we will be together. With my whole heart, I take you as my husband, acknowledging and accepting your faults and strengths, as you do mine. I promise to be faithful and supportive and to always make our family’s love and happiness my priority. I will be yours in plenty and in want, in sickness and in health, in failure and in triumph. I will dream with you, celebrate with you and walk beside you through whatever our lives may bring. You are my person — my love and my life, today and always.”

Elara smiled and turned to Alex and extended her hand to him, Michael’s ring in her palm. 

Alex took the ring from her hand and held it between his fingers, admiring the intricate design etched into the black titanium band. He raised his eyes to meet Michael’s and slid the ring on his finger. “Michael, this ring is my sacred gift to you. My promise to love you with all my heart.”

Michael felt Alex’s love and devotion wash over him, he sent the same feeling back to him through their bond. He listened to Alex’s beautiful voice recite the vows Michael had just given him. He couldn’t stop the tears from welling in his eyes when Alex said the last words. “You are my person — my love and my life, today and always.”

Elara took both their right hands in hers and looked from one to the other. “Do you both promise to love, honor and cherish each for as long as you both shall live?”

Alex and Michael answered in unison. “We do.”  
“I look to the sun, the moon and the stars to bless this union. Michael. Alex. Your bond is cemented for all eternity.” She turned to her people. “May I present to you, your future King and his Prince.”

The crowd waited in silence until Michael remembered he was supposed to kiss Alex. He lunged forward and took Alex’s face in his hands and leaned in for their first kiss as husbands. 

The moment their lips touched the crowd erupted in thunderous applause mixed with exuberant cheering. Michael thought he might have heard a whistle or two, no doubt coming from Kyle or even Sanders. He kissed Alex for what felt like hours but was really only minutes before pulling back to look into his eyes. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Alex replied.

@@@

The reception was definitely less formal than the actual wedding ceremony. Food, wine and music filled the reception hall. Michael and Alex walked through the crowds of people, stopping to talk to anyone who wanted a moment of their time. They laughed and danced and enjoyed the food that was offered every time they turned around. 

When it came time for the traditional Antarian wedding dance, Alex nervously held onto Michael. He knew Michael and the healers would never let him fall so he tried to relax and let Michael lead them in a dance that vaguely resembled a waltz.

“You know we could just sway to the music. No one would be upset. They love you and know about your leg.” Michael whispered while they danced.

“I’m actually okay, totally pain free. I’m just afraid I’ll forget the steps.” Alex admitted.

“Good thing we’ve been practicing, huh?” Michael teased.

“Yes, it’s definitely a good thing.”

“Do you think anyone would notice if we slipped away after this dance?” Michael mused.

Alex threw his head back and laughed. “Yes, I think people would notice if the grooms suddenly went missing before the cake and the toasts.”

Micheal sighed. “It was worth a shot.”

“Have I told you how gorgeous you look today? Don’t get me wrong, I love how you normally dress but these royal wedding clothes fit your body perfectly.” Alex ran his eyes down Michael’s body, taking in the fitted tunic adorned with silver embroidery. While he missed Michael’s over the top belt buckles and tight jeans, he could get used to seeing him in these soft clothes.

Michael let his eyes roam over Alex’s outfit. “You look amazing too. I’ve never seen you wear this color before, I like it.”

“Isobel called it a cross between ocean and peacock.” Alex looked amused.

“Uh...I’d thought it was teal?” 

“It is. Isobel is just being Isobel.” Alex leaned in and gave Michael a soft kiss.

The music stopped and Michael led Alex back to their table. It was time for the toasts, this was the part of the night that made him nervous. With the copious amounts of wine at every table he was sure one of his friends was tipsy enough to say something completely embarrassing in their toasts. “Oh God! They just gave Max the microphone!” Michael buried his face in Alex’s neck.

“Baby, he’s your brother and he loves you. He’s not going to say anything to embarrass you.”

Michael lifted his head and glared at Alex. “Do you not remember our engagement party?”

Alex almost choked on his wine. “He wouldn’t...would he?”

“Good evening everyone. I’m Prince Max...but I’m sure you all know that. I was asked to give a toast to Prince Michael and Prince Alex. I’ll admit at first I was a little worried about what I could say to let you all know what amazing men they are. But after watching them interact with all of you this past week I realized you already knew how amazing they are. So, instead I want to give you a glimpse of who they were before you knew them.”

“Oh no!” Alex frantically looked around for Liz, surely she would keep Max from saying anything truly embarrassing.

Michael held Alex’s hand tightly, knowing there was no subtle way to stop Max without everyone seeing. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe it won’t be so bad.”

“Michael and Alex never had an easy life. While Isobel and I were adopted soon after we emerged from the pods, Michael was bounced around from foster home to foster home. No one gave him the love he deserved. Alex’s life wasn’t much easier. His father was not a loving man and tried to mold Alex into his own image. But even growing up the way they did never changed how caring and kind they were. It never changed how easily they helped those who needed it. Alex gave my brother a warm place to rest his head when he didn’t have a home of his own. I will forever be grateful he was able to help my brother when I wasn’t. These men have a capacity for love and compassion that I can only hope to have. They make me want to be a better person. Let’s raise our glasses and toast Prince Michael and Prince Alex. May their love last forever.”

Both Michael and Alex relaxed and lifted their glasses with everyone else. “I guess we didn’t need to be nervous.”

Isobel slipped her arms around them. “Did you two honestly think I’d let him tell that mortifying story about walking in on you having sex in his bedroom and you two being so lost in pleasure you didn’t notice him until he sat on the bed? Give me a little credit.”

“Oh my god, we owe you.” Michael pulled her into a hug.

“Yes, you do. And you’re going to owe me even more in a few minutes.” Isobel predicted.

Alex raised his eyebrow at her. “And why is that?”

“Because Elara sent me over here to tell you that you can leave whenever you want. All your royal obligations are complete. Go get naked and enjoy your wedding night.” Isobel smirked.

Michael sprang to his feel and pulled Alex to him. “What do you say husband? Want to have your way with me?”

“As long as it’s not in a royal broom closet.” Alex teased. 

Michael thanked Isobel and pulled Alex toward the door. They paused, wondering if they should say goodbye to everyone. Elara smiled at them from across the room and made a shooing motion. Michael gave her a little wave and escorted Alex to the waiting car. 

@@@

They barely made it to their suite, both stopping frequently to push each other against a wall, their kisses deep and frenzied. 

When Alex finally opened the door to their bedroom they were both more than ready to consummate their marriage. 

Michael pushed Alex onto the bed and covered his body, kissing every inch of skin he could reach. “God, I want you...I need you. I want to kiss every inch of your gorgeous body.”

Alex buried his fingers in Michael’s hair and felt the pleasure from Michael rushing through their bond. “What are you waiting for?”

Michael moaned loudly when Alex mouthed along his neck, kissing and biting the sensitive skin behind his ear. Momentarily distracted, Michael stretched his neck to give Alex more places to kiss. Alex obliged and then pulled back to repeat his question. “Why aren’t you undressing me? Normally we’d both be naked by now.”

Michael fumbled with Alex’s tunic, trying unsuccessfully to unfasten it. “How attached to this outfit are you?”

Alex stilled his hands. “You are not ripping this off of me. This is a royal wedding outfit...oh my God, you don’t know how to get it off do you?”

“Oh, I know how to get it off, baby...”

Alex groaned. “Michael, do you seriously not know how these clothes work? What have you been doing all week?” 

“I...uh...usually let the stylists undo everything. They’re always waiting to take the clothes back and...” Michael let his sentence trial off and looked down at Alex sheepishly.

Alex sighed and flipped them easily. He straddled Michel and looked down at him fondly. “I guess it’s a good thing one of us paid attention then, isn’t it?”

Michael watched Alex lovingly undress him and he couldn’t stop the contented sigh that slipped from his lips. He knew he was right where he belonged, in the loving arms of his husband, the love of his life, his soulmate. After all they had been through, they were finally getting their happily ever after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for joining me on this wild ride through secret nieces, crazy births, lost family, lies and treachery at the hands of the Air Force, the truly despicable Jesse Manes and finally a soft happy ending. I truly enjoyed reading all your comments, you always made my day with your thoughts and ideas about what was going to happen next. 
> 
> I hope you all will join me again very soon. I have two more WIPs I think you will all enjoy. A Haven/Roswell crossover that is half done. And a darker alien baby story that with an interesting twist.


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